Christmas Travel LIVE: Traffic chaos on motorways while getaways hit by cancelled flights

Looking ahead to next week, conditions are expected to improve and the UK could see a “grey Christmas”, rather than a white one.

Met Office meteorologist Dan Stroud said: “We’re expecting to see some sunny spells further east and a lot of cloud from the west.

“Temperatures should rise considerably and it will be extremely mild over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

“In England and Wales, temperatures will be well above average with some grey in the mix. We’re expecting an average of around 12C or 13C on Christmas Eve and 11C or 12C on Christmas Day. The usual average for this time of year is 7C or 8C so we’ll be around double where we usually are.

“Overnight temperatures in Scotland for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day will be extremely mild.”

Sunday 22 December is the busiest day of the winter at three of the UK’s leading airports: London Gatwick, Stansted and Manchester. Operations at all three are running smoothly, unlike at London Heathrow where “flow-rate” restrictions have caused the cancellation of more than 100 flights.

The most significant problems in Europe outside Heathrow are at Funchal airport on the island of Madeira. Several flights have been diverted, including to the nearby island of Porto Santo and the Canary Islands.

An easyJet flight from Gatwick circled for 45 minutes to the northeast of Funchal before diverting to Tenerife. The inbound service from the island of Madeira to Gatwick has been grounded.

The airline told passengers: “We’re sorry that your flight has been cancelled. This is because strong winds in Madeira are preventing aircraft from arriving and departing. The safety of you and our crew is our highest priority and we thank you for your understanding.”

Travellers who were booked to fly home on the cancelled plane are entitled to be flown on any airline with seats available – but space is at a premium so close to Christmas.

Met Office meteorologist Dan Stroud said that Sunday could see gusts of up to 75mph.

He said: “There will continue to be more challenging travel conditions, with coastal areas seeing around 50 to 60mph winds.

“Extremely exposed coastal areas could see up to 70 or 75mph and parts of the west are expected to see 40 or 50mph.

“In the evening we are expecting these to ease and gradually drop off.

“My advice for people travelling today and tonight is to take it easy, particularly in the north and east. The main concern is that there’s the potential for icy patches in some areas.”

The train line between Crediton and Okehampton in south England have closed due to the weather, Great Western Railways have said.

In a post on social media, they said: “Due to forecasted severe weather between Crediton and Okehampton the line is closed.

“Train services between Exeter St Davids and Okehampton via Crediton have been suspended between Crediton and Okehampton. Disruption is expected until 18:00.”

Stefan Donnelly, 35, had travelled from London to Scotland where he discovered his ferry from Cairnryan to Larne had been cancelled.

Mr Donnelly had planned to travel at 8pm on Saturday but has managed to rebook onto the 8pm sailing on Sunday.

The marketing manager, who is travelling home to Northern Ireland for Christmas, said communication from P&O Ferries had been poor as he only discovered his sailing had been cancelled from social media.

“I was on my way to Cairnryan yesterday and happened to check Twitter to discover my ferry was cancelled,” Mr Donnelly said.

“I stopped in Ayr and booked a night in a hotel there.

“There wasn’t any communication from P&O, I didn’t get an email or a text message or anything. I was on the phone for about an hour-and-a-half this morning but I eventually got through to someone.

“They were saying on the Twitter side that the 8pm ferry I’m getting today was full but then they weren’t actually, and I’m traveling as a foot passenger, which makes it easier for (P&O).”

A spokesperson for British Airways said that adverse weather and “restrictions” on the number of flights able to take off and land had led to “a small number of cancellations”.

They added: “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.”

NATs, which provides UK air traffic control, confirmed that “due to adverse weather, temporary air traffic restrictions are in place at Heathrow.

“Restrictions of this sort are only ever applied to maintain safety.”

Met Office Chief Meteorologist Frank Saunders, said: “We have slightly tweaked our weather warnings as the peak winds have now shifted slightly north.

“The strongest winds are expected across the far north of Scotland on Saturday afternoon and evening, with the potential for gusts in excess of 80 mph in coastal districts including Orkney. Dangerous coastal conditions can be expected too, with large waves an additional hazard, especially in respect to causeways.

“This period of strong winds may lead to some transport disruption, including ferry delays or cancellations.

“Frequent blustery showers will also be a feature on Saturday and may merge into a longer spell of rain for a time in the far north and northwest.

“Those showers could turn to snow on the hills in the northwest of Scotland on Saturday evening, and then overnight and into Sunday. This chance of wintry showers extends to Northern Ireland, southern Scotland and northern England. Snow will be focused over hills, where several cm may fall, but some sleet, snow and hail may fall to quite low levels for a time, bringing possible icy conditions by Sunday morning.”

Snow has been seen in places across the UK, as the Met Office warns of a “cold, blustery start” to Sunday with weather warnings in place.

On social media, they said: “It’s a cold, blustery start to Sunday, and as the sequence shows we’re even seeing a little snow in places this morning, chiefly over hills towards the north and west.”

All between Cairnryan in southwest Scotland and Northern Ireland have been cancelled until very late on Sunday evening due to bad weather.

This applies to both Stena Line to Belfast and P&O Ferries to Larne.

Stena Line’s 11.30pm sailing from Belfast to Cairnryan is classed as “In Doubt”. The ferry company is telling passengers: “If your sailing has been cancelled please do not arrive at the port for your original sailing, please amend your booking before travelling.”

The cancellations come when ferries across the Irish Sea are extremely heavily booked because of the closure of the main link between Great Britain and Ireland, Holyhead to Dublin. The port in northwest Wales sustained damage during Storm Darragh earlier this year and is out of action until 15 January at the earliest.

Normally eight superferries, capable of carrying over 2,000 passengers as well as hundreds of cars and trucks, would make the crossing every day. Some replacement sailings are connecting Fishguard in southwest Wales with Dublin, but they have also been cancelled on Sunday due to bad weather.

Part of the M62 is closed after snow overnight, YorkshireLive reports.

The snow has caused disruption between Huddersfield and Saddleworth, with one lane closed between junction 24 at Ainley Top and junction 22 at Rishworth Moor.

Inrix states: “One lane closed due to snow on M62 Eastbound from J22 A672 (Rishworth Moor) to J24 A629 (Ainley Top). Lanes one and Two Open.”

One motorist tweeted: “Sketchy drive to Manchester Airport this morning. Strong winds, snow, hail, rain, motorway’s like an ice rink. Careful if you’re out and about.”