Heathrow Airport has cancelled a number of flights on Sunday in a blow to Christmas holidaymakers as gales of up to 70mph hammer the country.

As the Christmas period is set to hit imminently, high winds and bad weather could look to derail many Brits’ plans during the festivities.

The Met Office has issued yellow warnings for strong winds as millions of people look to begin their travel ahead of Christmas.

A number of travel disruptions have already been evident in the UK as a number of ferries between Scotland and Northern Ireland were cancelled on Saturday, December 21.

Heathrow Airport announced a number of cancelled flights which were due to “strong winds and airspace restrictions”.

The UK’s busiest airport announced that a “small number” of flights had been cancelled with a spokesperson adding: “This will ensure the vast majority of passengers can still safely travel as planned.”

On Sunday, these cancellation figures on flights look to be in the region of up to 100 cancelled flights, according to the BBC.

Among those 100 cancelled flights, 80 of these are on British Airways, particularly among their short-haul domestic and European flights.

Cancelled British Airway flights also look to be around three round-trips to Amsterdam and Glasgow which have been grounded.

Travel expert Simon Calder described these 100 cancellations at Heathrow as being “significant”, urging for the rate of arrivals to be extended in order for the airport to cope.

Calder also warned that an estimated 15,000 passengers could be affected by this.

Heathrow airport strongly urged passengers to check with their airline before flying and to be up to date with the latest information regarding their flight.

A spokesperson for British Airways added that “adverse weather” and the subsequent “restrictions” on certain flights has led to “a small number of cancellations”.

“We’re offering free flight changes for those customers booked on short-haul services who don’t wish to travel this weekend, and we will be offering rebooking and refund options as always to those whose journeys are disrupted as a result of the restrictions,” they added.

The UK’s leading provider of air traffic control services, NATs, added that “due to adverse weather, temporary air traffic restrictions are in place at Heathrow.”

They added: “Restrictions of this sort are only ever applied to maintain safety.”

Alongside a number of cancelled flights, road closures in exposed areas may also be closed with speed restrictions in place for some trains in Scotland.