Fog causes flight delays at Gatwick Airport for a third day

Fog is continuing to disrupt flights at Gatwick Airport with restrictions imposed to maintain safety.

On what is expected to be the airport's busiest day of the Christmas period, it said some flights "may be delayed throughout the day" due to "poor visibility" and apologised to customers.

While the weather is improving, the UK's main air traffic control (ATC) provider Nats said temporary air restrictions were in place for the rest of the day at affected London airports.

Flights are still being delayed across some of the UK's other major airports on Sunday after cancellations and disruption since Friday. Passengers are still advised to check their flight before travelling.

Gatwick's arrivals and departures boards show a number of delays to flights, with EasyJet saying some of its planes due to leave on Sunday are "now unable to operate as planned" due to ongoing poor weather.

The airline apologised and advised customers travelling to and from the airport on Sunday to check its website for the latest information on their flight.

Sunday is expected to be Gatwick's busiest day during the holiday period, with 769 flights planned. It is thought that around 30 departures and 28 arrivals have been cancelled throughout the day.

Heathrow, Stansted and Luton Airports said on Sunday morning that flights had not been impacted by the weather.

However, live departures and arrivals boards showed some delays throughout the day, but it is not known if they were fog related.

Manchester Airport's live boards also showed some delays to flights on Sunday.

Ewan Somerville, a BBC News journalist has been trying to fly from Edinburgh to Gatwick since 20:00 GMT on Saturday.

His flight was cancelled and rescheduled for 17:00 on Sunday but has now been delayed until 22:30. Two other Gatwick flights after it have been cancelled.

"Many passengers on delayed or cancelled flights are stuck here in the departure lounge facing constant uncertainty, as the slots keep changing," he said.

"I've seen a passenger in tears, others wanting to hire cars to London but being told they wouldn't get reimbursed for that cost, people looking for trains which are all sold out, and parents asking to change flights because of their restless young children - but being told they'd need to ring an easyJet customer service helpline you can't get through to.

"It's a chaotic situation and really difficult to get any answers about when we can finally get home."

BBC Weather said the fog is not as extensive or thick as it has been for the past two days, adding it is mostly in central and south England and south Wales and should disperse from some areas by Sunday afternoon.

But even when the fog dissipates, many planes and pilots may be out of place due to the previous delays and cancellations, which is likely to bring further disruption to air travel.

A Nats spokesperson added: "Our teams are working closely with the airports and airlines to minimise disruption but passengers should check the status of their flight with their airline."

Manchester, Glasgow and Cardiff were among the airports where flights had also been disrupted on Friday and Saturday.

A fresh bout of weather disruption is forecast over the New Year after the Met Office issued a series of yellow warnings around the UK.

Alerts for rain, snow and wind of up to 70mph begin to come into force on Monday with almost all of the country impacted by at least one warning over the following four days.