Xmas getaway chaos as flights & ferries cancelled due to 70mph winds with Met Office warnings sweeping nearly ALL of UK

FLIGHTS and ferries have been cancelled due to 70mph winds, adding to the Christmas getaway chaos.

Millions of travellers are continuing to take to the roads in a bid to be with family and friends for the festivities.

The Met Office said warnings for “severe” gales are expected to remain in place until 9pm today – more than 24 hours after being issued.

Warnings remain in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and in England the warnings cover the North East, North West, South West and West Midlands as well as Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Hampshire.

And this morning, more snow is expected in parts of Scotland.

The Met Office said: “Snow will be focused over hills, where several centimetres may fall, but some sleet, snow and hail may fall to quite low levels for a time, bringing possible icy conditions by Sunday morning.”

HEATHROW

Yesterday Heathrow Airport announced a “small number of flights” had been cancelled due to “strong winds and airspace restriction” and British Airways said disruption was likely to continue throughout the weekend.

A spokesperson for the airline said: “Due to adverse weather this weekend, restrictions have been put on the number of flights able to take off and land at Heathrow and therefore we’ve had to make a small number of cancellations.

“We’re offering free flight changes for those customers booked on short-haul services who don’t wish to travel this weekend, and we will be offering rebooking and refund options as always to those whose journeys are disrupted as a result of the restrictions.

“While the vast majority of our customers will travel as planned, our teams are working hard to help those who have been affected get their travel plans back on track at this important time of year.”

P&O Ferries said journeys between Larne and Cairnryan have been cancelled until at least 8pm on Sunday.

CalMac, which operates ferry services on Scotland’s west coast, said 29 of its 30 routes were either cancelled or affected by disruption on Sunday.

Rail operator ScotRail announced that speed restrictions would be in place for part of the route between Glasgow and Oban/Mallaig, and the Inverness service to Kyle/Wick.

It comes amid warnings of a “perfect storm” created by bad weather and congestion on the roads.

The AA predicted 21.3 million drivers will hit the road on Sunday while 22.7 million had been expected on Saturday, slightly fewer than the 23.7 million on Friday which was expected to be the busiest day on the roads since the group’s records began in 2010.

A spokesperson said “if the congestion wasn’t enough of a headache, the inclement weather could create the perfect storm”.

“We advise those heading out to allow extra time to travel and increase the distance between themselves and other road users.”

The RAC estimated seven million leisure trips would be made on major roads during the weekend, which excludes everyday traffic.

It predicted that congestion hotspots will be on both directions of the M1 to Gatwick via the M25 and the M23; Liverpool to Chester on the M53; Oxford to the south coast via the A34 and the M3; the M25 to the south coast along the M3; and at the Taunton to Almondsbury Interchange in Bristol heading down the M5.

It comes after Heathrow said earlier this week it was preparing for the “busiest Christmas ever”.

The West London airport expects the number of passengers travelling through its terminals on December 25 to be 21 per cent higher than on the same day last year.

It also predicts that passenger numbers for the month as a whole will exceed the previous record of 6.7 million in 2023.

The airport made the forecast after confirming it served 6.5 million passengers last month in the “busiest ever November”.