Fog causes more disruption at London's Gatwick Airport on busiest day of holidays

Disruption caused by thick fog is expected to continue at London's Gatwick Airport on Sunday – its busiest day of the Christmas holidays.

Nats, the UK’s main air traffic control provider, said temporary air restrictions will continue on Sunday because of low visibility in airports affected by fog.

The other major airports in south-east England – Heathrow, Stansted and Luton – said on Sunday morning that their flights had not been affected by the weather.

This follows two days of disruption at the UK’s busiest airports, with Saturday’s flights at Stansted affected by the murky conditions, while there were also delays at Heathrow, Luton, Gatwick and Manchester airports,

On Sunday morning, a spokesman for Gatwick – which is about 46km south of central London in West Sussex – said air traffic restrictions remained in place because of poor visibility caused by fog, and warned of flights delays throughout the day.

Some 769 flights are planned at the airport on Sunday, making it the busiest day of the Christmas holiday period. Passengers are advised to contact their airlines for updated information.

A Nats spokesman said: “While the weather conditions have improved, fog continues to affect some airports in London today. Temporary air traffic restrictions are therefore in place at airfields with low visibility to maintain safety.

“Our teams are working closely with the airports and airlines to minimise disruption but passengers should check the status of their flight with their airline.”

Patches of thick fog could reduce visibility to just 100m in some areas, the Met Office said.

Among those affected by cancellations over the past few days were a couple who have had to extend by two days a Christmas visit to family on the Isle of Man, off the north-west coast of England.

Kiera Quayle, from Colchester, Essex, in south-east England, was due to fly from 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 finally being cancelled at around 10pm, with the next one not available until Sunday.

“Our five days has turned to seven, it looks like,” Mrs Quayle, 30, told the PA news agency. “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.”

Passengers on flights delayed for more than two hours may be entitled to assistance, including food and drink or overnight accommodation if necessary.

The UK is expected to be “brighter” later on Sunday, ahead of a blast of snow and rain towards New Year’s Eve, the Met Office has said.

Towards New Year’s Eve on Tuesday, the forecast is looking “unsettled” with blustery and wet conditions hitting the north of Britain 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 New Year's celebrations.