Heathrow cancels 100 flights as 70mph winds hit UK | United Kingdom | News

Heathrow Airport canceled a number of flights on Sunday, a blow to Christmas holidaymakers as winds of up to 70mph batter the country.

With the Christmas period fast approaching, high winds and bad weather could derail many Brits’ plans during the festivities.

The Met Office has issued yellow warnings for strong winds as millions of people plan to start their journeys before Christmas.

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

Heathrow Airport has announced a number of canceled flights 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 that the vast majority of passengers can still travel safely as planned.”

On Sunday, these flight cancellation figures are expected to be around up to 100 canceled flights, according to the BBC.

Of these 100 canceled flights, 80 of them are on British Airways, notably among their domestic and European short-haul flights.

The canceled British Airways flights are also expected to affect around three return trips to Amsterdam and Glasgow which have been grounded.

Travel expert Simon Calder described the 100 cancellations at Heathrow as “significant”, calling for the pace of arrivals to be extended so the airport can cope.

Calder also warned that around 15,000 passengers could be affected by this measure.

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

A British Airways spokesperson added that “adverse weather conditions” and subsequent “restrictions” on some flights led to “a small number of cancellations”.

“We are offering free flight changes to customers booked on short-haul services who do not wish to travel this weekend, and we will, as always, offer rebooking and refund options to those whose trips are disrupted due to the restrictions,” they added.

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

They added: “Restrictions of this type are only applied to maintain security.”

As well as a number of canceled flights, road closures in exposed areas could also be closed with speed restrictions in place for some trains in Scotland.