Planes were left struggling to land at Bristol Airport and several flights from Heathrow were cancelled as stormy weather hit the UK today.
Strong winds meant one aircraft had to make three attempts to land at Bristol, while others were also filmed jolting above the runway in conditions caused by Storm Gerrit.
Gusts of up to 80mph and heavy rain caused delays to road, rail, air and ferry transport on Wednesday.
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Storm Gerrit – live updates
Drivers stranded in ‘major incident’
At Heathrow, west London, British Airways cancelled 18 flights set to operate to or from the airport due to air traffic control restrictions.
These were return domestic trips to Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Jersey and Manchester, and to Barcelona, Berlin, Madrid and Paris Charles de Gaulle in mainland Europe.
A British Airways spokesman said: “We have apologised to our customers for any disruption to their travel plans and our teams are working hard to get them on their way as quickly as possible.”
The fastest recorded wind gusts so far on Wednesday were 86mph at Inverbervie on the northeast coast of Scotland, 84mph at Fair Isle and 83mph at Capel Curig, North Wales, the Met Office said.
Thousands of people travelling to Luton Airport by train were also at risk of missing flights due to multiple signalling failures causing disruption.
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East Midlands Railway said it was unable to run services between London St Pancras and Wellingborough this afternoon, while a Thameslink service calling at the airport was delayed by nearly two hours.
The rail firm said there may be minor disruption until 10am on Thursday. “We would advise you if you are travelling tomorrow to check your train before travel,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
Weather warnings for wind, rain and snow further north covered much of the UK on Wednesday, with some yellow warnings continuing into Thursday.
Storm Gerrit has hit the UK less than a week after Storm Pia caused significant disruption.
