Thousands of passengers at Heathrow have seen their flights cancelled after a freezing fog descended over the capital on Monday morning.
Heathrow Airport recorded its coldest night since December 2010 and coldest January night since 1987 as temperatures dropped to minus 8.4C.
More than 80 British Airways flights have been grounded causing chaos with flights to Amsterdam, Brussels, Berlin, Rome and a long haul to Miami affected, according to Heathrow’s departure boards.
Passengers landing at the airport complained on social media about being stuck on board for more than an hour.
The UK’s busiest airport was struck by severe cold – with a temperature of -8C grounding at least 70 British Airways flights on Sunday.
Heathrow Airport mandated a reduction in flights due to the freezing fog weather conditions and Air Traffic Control restrictions.
A BA spokesman added: “Like other airlines, our schedule has been affected by the continued freezing fog weather conditions experienced across London. We’ve apologised to customers whose flights have been affected and are doing everything we can to get them on their way as quickly as possible.
“We advise customers to check ba.com for the latest flight information.”
A Heathrow spokesperson said: “Poor visibility is forecast this morning at the airport and across the South East. While there may be minor changes to today’s schedule as a result of the weather, we want to reassure passengers that our colleagues are working in close collaboration with our airline and air traffic control partners to get them safely away on their journeys as quickly as possible. We encourage passengers to check with their airline for the latest information.”
The fog patches are expected to clear on Monday morning with temperatures hitting a maximum 5C, before temparatures plunge again overnight to -6C.
Met Office meteorologist Craig Snell said temperatures are soon expected to climb across the whole of the UK.
“We’re starting to lose the risk of fog and temperatures are generally around where they should be.
“We’ll probably lose the really hard frosts. In terms of ice and snow, it certainly looks like we’re over the worst.
“We’ve got to keep an eye on the risk of fog generally this cold spell, although the main hazards from it look like they are beginning to diminish.”
It is expected to warm up from Tuesday with overcast skies before sunshine breaks through on Thursday and Friday.
A “moderate” air pollution alert has also been issued for London by mayor Sadiq Khan, where the foggy conditions are causing poor dispersion of vehicle emissions.
It comes after temperatures plunged below -10C in parts of the UK this week amid snow and icy conditions.
Drumnadrochit near Inverness in the Highlands hit minus 10.4C in the early hours of Thursday, making it the coldest recorded temperature of the year so far.
