Storm Bert Sparks Weekend Travel Chaos at UK Airports - Travel Radar

Storm Bert Sparks Weekend Travel Chaos at UK Airports – Travel Radar

Posted by Admin November 25, 2024 Travel

Storm Bert caused major disruptions at UK airports over the weekend, leading to over 200 flight cancellations. The widespread disruptions affected both inbound and outbound services, leaving thousands of travellers stranded or delayed with London Heathrow Airport being the hardest hit and recording the highest number of cancellations.

Storm Bert caused at least five deaths in England and Wales, with over 200 flood alerts still in place.

Coastal gusts reached 75mph, and inland winds hit 65mph, with travel disruptions expected to continue into the week.

The Met Office said today:

Tragically, high intensity rainfall events like those seen with Storm Bert are becoming more common as our atmosphere warms due to human-induced climate change. A recent attribution study has shown that climate change has made rainfall during storms more intense through the autumn and winter.”

Flight Disruptions on Saturday, 23 November:

According to aviation analytics firm Cirium, 126 outbound flights were cancelled from UK airports, representing over 6% of scheduled departures. Additionally, 118 inbound flights were scrapped, equating to 6% of all scheduled arrivals. Heathrow Airport experienced the highest number of cancellations, with 46 outbound flights (7% of all departures) and 48 inbound flights (8% of arrivals) affected by Storm Bert.

Flight Disruptions on Sunday, 24 November:

Cirium reported that by noon, UK airports had already faced significant disruptions, with 121 outbound flights cancelled—accounting for over 5% of scheduled departures. An additional 117 inbound flights, also equating to 5% of scheduled arrivals, were cancelled. Cirium reported that London Heathrow Airport remained the most affected, with 88 outbound cancellations (14% of all departures) and 85 inbound cancellations (13% of all arrivals).

Heathrow Airport was worst affected, with crosswinds of up to 40mph causing disruption to departures and arrivals on Sunday.

View of Heathrow Airport (LHR) from the window of a stationary Virgin Atlantic Airbus on the tarmac. — © DiscoA340

Improving Conditions on Monday, 25 November

Experiencing less disruption today from Storm Bert, London Heathrow Airport continued to issue severe weather warnings and caution passengers about potential last-minute delays.

While the number of cancelled flights decreased, British Airways faced significant delays with late departures, despite relatively moderate wind speeds of 18 mph throughout most of the day.

British Airways flights were delayed when departing from London Heathrow Airport to cities including Barcelona, Geneva, Lisbon, Dublin, Glasgow, Berlin, Zurich, Hanover, Edinburgh, Vienna and Munich.

The MET office have said that storm Bert is expected to clear up by tomorrow on Tuesday however, further winds and rains may still overflow into Tuesday and Wednesday night further.

Storm Bert has also caused major disruption on rail and road which further delays passengers from getting to airports via train and car.