After the navigation crisis at the end of 2024… expectations of air chaos at British airports
Many travelers through British airports are surprised by the idea of flight schedules being upended for a long period due to a short-term weather event, especially since the British weather is not known for being the best.
Many of us are used to experiencing train delays here in the UK – whether it’s holidays on the line or just plain commuting – but with all the technological advances of planes and airports in recent years, why are flights getting delayed too?
From airport efficiency to chaos
Travel expert Simon Calder says: “Airplanes can operate safely in fog, but airports are currently operating slowly,” according to a report published by the BBC website.
“The planes follow a beam from the instrument landing system. This beam must not break, which may happen when the weather is foggy,” he said.
When there are strong winds, the distance between aircraft must be greater than usual for safety reasons.
He said most modern planes can land automatically in the worst fog conditions, but in practice visibility limits are imposed so pilots can see well enough to get off the runway.
With upcoming snowfall warnings, passengers are advised to prepare for further disruptions to their travels.
“The UK has seen some flight closures due to snow, with major airports simply not being able to cope,” Calder said, citing an incident in 2010 in which hundreds of thousands of passengers saw their flights canceled at Heathrow Airport due to snow.
Snow also caused the closure of Manchester Airport’s two runways in December 2022 and again in January 2023, with flights being diverted to places as far away as Dublin and Paris.
Although the huge cost of disruption on this scale has prompted UK airports to invest more in equipment and training to clear snow faster, don’t expect us to be able to handle this like airports in the likes of Iceland and Greenland.
Calder explained: Britain may never be as good as other countries at maintaining an effective schedule in unusual weather.
Increased atmospheric turbulence
There is no good news on the horizon, because in the future, we can expect more weather disturbances linked to climate change, says Dr. Ella Gilbert, a climate expert from the British Antarctic Survey.
She says a warming climate is increasing the frequency and intensity of rain and snowfall, making storms “stronger and more frequent.” This also means more aircraft turbulence.
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