Fog grounds dozens more Heathrow and Gatwick flights on one of the busiest weekends of UK winter
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More than 200 flights to and from UK airports were cancelled between noon on Friday and Saturday evening. Tens of thousands of airline passengers endured long delays, diversions and cancellations as low cloud and fog blanketed south-east England – which has the busiest skies in the world.
![[Passengers in Manchester Airport waiting for their flights in Terminal 3]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/28/12/SEI234370802-1.jpg)
The Independent has calculated that more than 200 flights to and from UK airports were cancelled between noon on Friday and Saturday evening as air traffic controllers slowed the “flow rate” at both London Heathrow and Gatwick. It comes as forecasters indicated fog would linger across large swathes of England and Wales, especially across southern areas, but conditions are expected to improve later on Saturday.
![[A plane lands in the mist at Cardiff Airport]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/28/14/59e2fb57c8f10cb7ac009b4c8cdd93d1Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzM1NDgwNDQx-2.78579279.jpg)
The two London airports are respectively the busiest two-runway and single-runway airports in the world, and depend on being able to run at full capacity in order to keep the intense schedule on track. His family was among an estimated 20,000 British Airways passengers whose flights have been grounded over the past two days at Heathrow, Gatwick and London City.
![[Flights were delayed at airports including Gatwick, Heathrow and Luton on Saturday]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/28/14/5c56e211ab9f35eb268332f2c5c35da6Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzM1NDc5NDM2-2.78579331.jpg)
The worst-affected airport on Friday was Gatwick, where 48 departures and arrivals were grounded – half of them on easyJet. Kiera Quayle, from Colchester, Essex, was due to fly from Isle of Man Airport to London Gatwick on Friday evening with her husband after visiting his family but their flight was delayed by three hours before being cancelled entirely at around 10pm, with their next available journey on Sunday.
