Severe weather caused by Storm Bram has severely impacted air travel in the UK and Ireland on Wednesday, leading to numerous flight delays and cancellations.
Key airports like London Heathrow, Manchester, and Dublin have been compelled to cancel a significant number of flights within the last 24 hours due to the storm’s powerful 90mph winds.
London Heathrow alone witnessed over 600 flights delayed and 32 flights canceled on Tuesday, affecting air travel worldwide. As of Wednesday morning, two flights have already been canceled at the UK’s busiest airport.
Manchester Airport has had more than a dozen flights canceled since Tuesday, primarily from Belfast and Dublin, following weather warnings issued for Northern Ireland and Ireland, indicating potential life-threatening conditions as per the Met Office. A flight to Toronto was also canceled on Wednesday morning.
In Ireland, Dublin Airport experienced 79 cancellations and over 240 delays on Tuesday, along with diversions due to the storm.
Elsewhere in the UK, a Norwegian Air flight destined for Gatwick Airport was diverted to Copenhagen, while two other flights were canceled on Tuesday.
Travel disruptions have affected multiple airports beyond London, including Aberdeen, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Inverness, and Liverpool, all experiencing wind warnings from the UK’s Met Office.
Storm Bram is anticipated to subside by late Wednesday, with most weather warnings expected to be removed by the evening. Some delays and localized flooding might extend into Thursday morning, but the worst weather conditions are forecasted to pass by Wednesday night.
On the ground, numerous areas faced power outages due to the storm, which also brought unusually warm temperatures to various parts of the UK, with temperatures reaching as high as 16C due to tropical air from the mid-Atlantic. As of Wednesday morning, 55 flood warnings were issued across the UK, with the majority in England.
Storm Bram succeeded Storm Amy, which hit earlier this year in October, resulting in widespread damage and a fatality in Ireland. The storm was named after Bram Stoker, the Dublin-born author of Dracula, by Ireland’s national weather service, Met Éireann.
