Misery For Travellers As Freezing Fog Hits Flights, Rail And Roads

Thousands of passengers were stuck yesterday as airlines cancelled scores of flights because of ice as Heathrow recorded its coldest temperature in over a decade.

- Mark Reynolds

While Scotland and the north of England were blessed with mild weather, the icy snap dominated the South.

The big freeze also made driving tricky in southern parts and hit rail services.

The conditions sparked travel warnings after reports of multiple crashes during the morning rush hour with commuters warned of icy roads and low visibility from fog.

While temperatures reached 50F (10.1C) in Kinlochewe in the Scottish Highlands, the mercury plunged to -9.5C in Santon Downham, Suffolk.

Coldest

Heathrow recorded its coldest night since December 2010 - and its chilliest January night since 1987 as temperatures dropped to a teeth-chattering -8.4C.

The icy conditions at Britain's busiest airport led to the cancellation of more than 80 British Airways flights affecting some 12,000 passengers expecting to fly to destinations such as Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Milan, Paris, and Stockholm.

It followed around 70 cancellations at the airport on Sunday due to freezing fog.

Airlines were warned at the weekend they would have to reduce flights at Heathrow by about 15 percent due to the weather and air traffic control restrictions.

And temperatures at the airport yesterday morning were still as low as -6C, with visibility also poor.