Severe fog causes flights chaos
22.12.07
Thousands of passengers were stranded last night as severe fog grounded planes at Gatwick, Stansted, London City and Southampton airports. Conditions prevented planes from taking off at Gatwick and Southampton and incoming flights had to be diverted away from Stansted and London City Airport.
There were ugly scenes at Gatwick, when the Police had to be called to calm down irate passengers. Around 2000 people were affected by cancellations at Gatwick. Some 16 departures were cancelled at the airport, 12 of them easyJet flights. A breakdown in communication between easyJet staff and anxious passengers heading for Edinburgh led to pushing and shouting, causing worried airline reps to call police.
At Southampton Airport flights were cancelled from 17:00 while arrivals were diverted to other airports including Birmingham and Bournemouth. At Stansted, three flights were diverted away from the airport, but another eight flights were diverted into the airport, mainly from London City Airport.
The disruption came as airports across the country prepared for one of the busiest weekends of the year. A Gatwick Airport spokesman said flights should be up and running again today, but driving conditions may still be dangerous because rain and more fog is expected. The Met Office has issued severe weather warnings for north-west England and most of Scotland, warning of freezing rain and icy roads.
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