Stormy weather led to flight cancellation at Heathrow airport

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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Predictions of stormy weather to hit parts of Britain have led to the flights cancellation at Heathrow airport on Saturday.

The Met Office has also issued weather warnings for heavy rainfall in several parts of England and Wales. Most of Scotland and all of Northern Ireland has been issued a less severe “yellow warning” and told to be aware ahead of the predicted storms.

The airport has told about cancelling one in five flights during a two-hour period at Heathrow due to high temperatures and lightning strikes. However, the other flights are likely to face delays as well causing travel disruption across U.K.

A spokeswoman has said: “There is severe weather forecast at Heathrow with a 70% risk of thunderstorms, lightning strikes and hail storms. During thunderstorms the number of aircraft that can take off and land each hour is reduced.

“We have therefore requested that airlines reduce their flight schedule by 20% between 4pm and 6pm. Passengers due to travel on July 19 are urged to check the status of their flight with their airline before travelling to the airport.”

According to the airport’s website, around 20 flights that are likely to be cancelled are from destinations including Madrid, Dublin and Prague, with delays on a small number of other routes so far.

The Environment Agency has issued 54 flood alerts, the majority of which are in the South East, South West and Midlands and lesser severe flood alerts across the rest of the country.

Manchester Airport also had to suffer a slight chaos today after a thunderstorm caused an electrical surge, affecting baggage systems. The airport says most operations are back up and running, but also warns there are storms expected this afternoon.

General duty manager Gary Brown has told: “We’ll wait to see what happens this afternoon when we’re expecting thunder.”

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