Severe winter weather in the United States has led to widespread disruption to flights between the UK and the US, with dozens of services cancelled over the past two days.
According to aviation data provider Cirium, 52 flights departing UK airports for the US were cancelled on Saturday, 25 January. This represented almost half (48%) of all scheduled UK–US departures, with 108 flights due to operate.
Disruption was equally significant in the opposite direction. A total of 54 flights arriving into the UK from the US were cancelled, accounting for around 50% of all scheduled arrivals.
Across the United States, the impact was far broader. Cirium said 9,516 departing flights and 9,569 arriving flights were cancelled nationwide on Saturday as snow and severe weather affected major hubs.
Disruption has continued into Sunday, 26 January, although at a lower level so far. By midday GMT, 17 UK–US departures had already been cancelled, along with 10 inbound flights from the US to the UK.
Aviation analysts warned the number of cancellations is likely to rise as the day progresses, depending on weather conditions and aircraft positioning across US airports.
Airlines have advised passengers to check the status of their flights before travelling to the airport.
