Severe fog across the UK is leading to widespread flight delays and cancellations at major airports, including Gatwick and Manchester. Air traffic control restrictions and safety procedures are in place to ensure safe operations, but these measures necessitate increased spacing between aircraft, resulting in longer ground times and potential travel disruptions.
Passengers flying into and out of many of the UK's airports today are facing long delays amid a heavy blanket of fog. Air traffic control restrictions are in place at airports including Gatwick, while flights at Manchester Airport are facing cancelations and delays of up to three hours. Fog can impact visibility and make it harder to see where you are going - whether you are cycling, driving, or flying.
Air traffic controllers are equipped with safety practices to deal with weather such as the fog we are experiencing today, but it can result in delays for passengers. Control has to switch to radar and ‘low visibility procedures’ to ensure airport operations can continue safely. When these procedures are in place, aircrafts have to use the Instrument Landing System (ILS) to be automatically guided to the runway. This technology uses a beam to touch down, which must be kept free of interference from any other planes on the runway. This means that distances between planes has to be increased in order to reduce chances of interference. According to the NATS website, who manage most of the UK's air traffic control, typically this means the spacing between aircraft has to increase by up to 50 per cent. Distances are also increased when planes are manoeuvring or taxiing on the tarmac. The need for increased space and the extra resource these measures take mean passengers in the airport can be faced with delays when weather is foggy. A Manchester Airport spokesperson said: “Like most airports across the country, we have experienced some delays as a result of fog. In most instances these delays have been short and have not caused disruption to our schedule. 'Passengers due to travel should prepare as normal and aim to arrive at the airport in line with their airline’s advice - this is usually two hours ahead of a short haul flight and three hours ahead of a long haul flight.
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