Some of the strongest winds to hit parts of the UK in decades are wreaking havoc with air travel.
As of Monday morning, 22JAN, thousands of passengers en route to the UK are finding themselves stranded in European airports - even being diverted after arriving in their destination's airspace. Meanwhile, outbound passengers are facing cancellations from many UK airports, as heavy rains lashed the UK and Ireland, and winds peaked at over 160km/h overnight Sunday into Monday morning.
BBC reports that Storm Isha has forced a number of UK- and Ireland-bound flights to instead divert back to the continent, leaving pax in airports in France in Germany.
Planes headed for Bristol, Dublin and London ended up in Paris, as several Edinburgh-bound planes landed in Cologne, says the report, while Euronews also describes a flight headed for Dublin diverted to Bordeaux, France.
Many media reports cite complaints from passengers diverted from the UK on inbound flights who claim they were "dumped" in EU airports Sunday and Monday without any assistance.
UK officials say the storm is moving on, but heavy rain and high wind warnings remain in effect for Monday across the UK, leading to widespread air traffic control restrictions. There's even a "rare red alert" for parts of Scotland, with residents urged to shelter in place, and rail service also suspended.
The snowball effect of the storm on UK aviation is affecting thousands of pax booked on flights scheduled to depart from many airports in England, Scotland and Ireland.
The Daily Mail listed over four dozen flights being cancelled from departing from UK airports Monday so far, including at least one Air Canada flight from LHR to YHZ.
UK airports cancelling outbound flights include Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Bristol, Edinburgh, Dublin, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow and Leeds. There are reports of luggage being blown across the tarmac at Edinburgh airport.
Passengers flying to or from the UK Monday are advised to check the status of their flights before heading to the airport.
