British Airways cancels 80 flights TODAY as freezing fog grounds Heathrow airlines
Airlines have been forced to cancel dozens of flights as freezing fog engulfed Heathrow Airport this morning.
Last night the west London hub told airlines such including British Airways (BA) that they would need to cut 15 per cent of their scheduled flights as a result of poor visibility.
British Airways said it was working to minimise disruption for customers after it was forced to cancel 80 flights today.
“Like other airlines, our schedule has been affected by the continued freezing fog weather conditions experienced across London,” a company spokesperson said.
“We’ve apologised to customers whose flights have been affected and are doing everything we can to get them on their way as quickly as possible.”
Other carriers – including Lufthansa, Air France and Virgin Atlantic – have cancelled on average one departing and one arriving flight.
Heathrow said it was working in “close collaboration with our airline and our traffic control partners to get [passengers] safely away on their journeys as quickly as possible.”
The airport seems to be the only one to be impacted by the weather as City PM understands that rivals Gatwick, Stansted and London City did not report any fog-related issues.
Aviation analyst Sally Gethin told City PM Heathrow was especially impacted “due to its high operational use and capacity, and its large runway network.”
“Freezing weather also complicates ops with icy runways and aircraft that have to be de-iced more frequently prior to take off,” she said.
“All this slows down operations.”