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Christmas travel has already been thrown into disarray for thousands of passengers flying over the festive period, while ferry and rail closures are also causing problems.
Many passengers planning to fly from London Stansted Airport on Thursday, 19 December had their plans hampered after the first 17 departures of the airport express train were cancelled.
In the early hours of the morning, thieves stole signalling and power cables from the Stansted Express rail line in Hertfordshire, causing major disruption and delays to trains later in the day.
Other travellers have encountered issues with ferry services. The service between Holyhead and Dublin, the main ferry link between Britain and Ireland, will remain suspended over Christmas and into the new year after Holyhead’s port suffered damage during Storm Darragh. This has caused soaring air fares to Dublin.
Yellow weather alert warnings are also expected over the weekend, with strong winds hitting much of the UK’s north, likely causing delays to road, rail, air and ferry transport.
Wild weather predicted for most of UK over coming weekend
On Saturday 21 December from 7am to midnight, the Met Office has yellow weather warnings for strong winds in place for much of the northern UK.
The warnings cover all of Scotland (apart from Shetland), northern England west of the Pennines (including Manchester airport), the North Wales coast and the northern half of Northern Ireland.
The Met Office says for western Scotland: “Very strong westerly winds are expected to develop through the course of Saturday in association with a deep area of low pressure, with gusts of 65-75 mph expected.
There is a small chance that gusts in excess of 80 mph could occur across this region.
“Dangerous coastal conditions can be expected too, with large waves an additional hazard, especially in respect to causeways.”
On Sunday, the warning changes to cover the whole of the west of the UK – west of a line through Leeds, Birmingham and Southampton.
From midnight to 9pm on Sunday, prospective travellers are warned: “A prolonged period of strong…
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