'Absolute chaos': Fliers stranded as freezing weather halts air travel

Flights at Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow airports have been cancelled amid plummeting temperatures.

Flights cancelled to and from Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen airports amid snow and ice weather warnings iStock

Travellers faced ongoing chaos on Sunday through to Monday after large parts of the UK were hit by snow and plummeting temperatures.

A total of 316 flights were cancelled across Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Stansted, Glasgow, Belfast International and Bristol airports over the weekend, roughly 11% of all scheduled flights, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.

Edinburgh Airport saw 12 cancelled departures on Sunday, and Glasgow had a combined 13 cancellations on Saturday and Sunday.

STV News counted ten cancelled departures from Glasgow on Monday, alongside 11 arrivals as of 2pm.

READ MORE: Temperatures plummet below -15C in coldest night of 2022 amid warning

Edinburgh Airport had 16 departures and six arrivals cancelled, meanwhile five arriving and four departing flights were cancelled from Aberdeen.

One traveller, flying from Edinburgh to the US, told STV News her flight had been delayed by more than two hours.

“I was very worried as in the time I waited, five other flights were cancelled one after the other.

“We waited for another half an hour on the runway while they sprayed the plane with some stuff to get the ice off.

“All in all, it was around five and a half hours before it looked like we were going to fly after all.”

READ MORE: How low will it go as winter tightens its grip on Scotland?

Another traveller at Edinburgh Airport called the situation “absolute chaos”, and advised others flying out to expect delays.

A spokesperson for the airport said: “Our advice is that passengers check with their airline for any information or updates regarding their flight.”

A Glasgow Airport spokesman said: “My understanding is that the cancellations so far this morning are due to the adverse weather conditions in other parts of the UK.”

A spokesperson for EasyJet said: “Airlines operating to and from the UK last night have been experiencing disruption to their flying programmes due to adverse weather, including flight EZY812 from Edinburgh to London Gatwick which unfortunately had to be cancelled as a result of the snow closure at London Gatwick.

“We are doing everything possible to minimise the disruption for our customers, notifying them directly of their options including a free transfer to an alternative flight or a refund as well as providing overnight hotel accommodation and meals and are advising any customers who source their own that they will be reimbursed.

“The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is EasyJet’s highest priority and while this is outside of our control, we would like to apologise to customers for the inconvenience caused as a result of the weather.”

In a statement, British Airways said: “Like all airlines operating to or from London, our schedule has been affected by continuing adverse winter weather conditions.”

“We’ve apologised to our customers and are doing everything we can to ensure as many are able to travel as possible.

“We’re refunding or rebooking anyone whose flight has been cancelled and providing refreshment vouchers and hotel accommodation where needed.”

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