Disruption caused by thick fog is expected to continue until Sunday at some of the UK’s busiest airports.
Flights at Stansted airport were affected by the weather conditions on Saturday, while live departure boards showed delays at Heathrow, Luton and Manchester airports.
Nats, the UK’s main air traffic control provider, said temporary air restrictions would remain in place until Sunday in areas with low visibility.
Sunday is expected to be Gatwick’s busiest day during the holiday period, with 769 flights planned.
Patches of thick fog could reduce visibility to just 100 metres in some areas, the Met Office said, as passengers have been advised to contact their airlines for updated information.
A Nats spokesperson said: “Restrictions of this sort are only ever applied to maintain safety.
“We continue to monitor the situation and have a Met Office expert embedded within our operation to ensure we have the latest available information.”
The BBC reported that 20 flights at Heathrow had been cancelled on Saturday morning, with another 29 delayed. At Gatwick, 26 were delayed and one cancelled. Flights at Stansted airport were also affected by the weather conditions, while live departure boards showed delays at Luton and Manchester airports, after a series of cancellations on Friday.
Liam Eslick, a meteorologist with the national weather service, said: “It’s that time of year when people are travelling around the country a lot and there are a lot of people on the roads.
“There is a lot of fog covering much of England, mainly the south-east and central England, but the rest of the country is seeing quite a bit of thick fog too … It will be pretty murky on Saturday morning and there will still be fog patches that will take a little longer to clear.”
Towards New Year’s Eve, the forecast is looking “unsettled” with blustery and wet conditions hitting the north of the UK and “less expansive” rain in the south.
The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for snow and rain in Scotland next week, warning that heavy downpours may bring “significant disruption” in the build-up to Hogmanay.
The alert is in place for most of Scotland, apart from Orkney and Shetland, on 30 and 31 December. Snow is likely in areas north and east of Perthshire, with between 10 and 20cm expected to accumulate on higher ground, according to the forecaster.
The Scottish first minister, John Swinney, urged people to “pay close attention” to weather warnings in place over the Hogmanay period, with heavy rain and snow potentially causing significant disruption in the buildup to the new year.
A yellow weather warning for wind in northern England on Monday has also been issued – with gusts of up to 60mph possible which may cause travel delays and power cuts. The warning, in place from 11am to 6pm, covers areas including Durham, Northumberland, Cumbria and North Yorkshire.
On Friday, dozens of flights from airports across the UK were cancelled and hundreds delayed, according to the flight-tracking website Flightradar24.
A spokesperson for Gatwick airport, in West Sussex, said on Saturday: “Some flights may be delayed throughout the day.” “London Gatwick apologises for any inconvenience. Passengers should contact their airline for further information.”
Kiera Quayle, from Colchester, Essex, was due to fly from the Isle of Man airport to Gatwick on Friday evening with her husband after visiting his family, but their flight was delayed by three hours before being cancelled at about 10pm, with their next available journey on Sunday.
“Our five days has turned to seven, it looks like,” Quayle told PA Media. “It’s frustrating and stressful but I overheard a few families who are now missing holidays and work who have it worse at this point.”
Irem, 36, said her flight from Cologne, Germany, to Manchester airport had been delayed by more than six hours on Friday because of fog in the north of England. “I suppose we’re lucky we’re still going to see [her husband’s family in north Wales] tomorrow,” she told the BBC.
One flight from Istanbul to Gatwick was delayed by 10 hours, the flight status website Cirium showed. “Some passengers got hotel, some were stranded at airports because of confusion,” Dr Shama Junejo said on X.