Airports open late to clear Christmas fog backlog

Airports in the UK and Channel Islands will stay open late to try to get passengers to their destinations for Christmas, after fog caused disruptions on Christmas Eve.

Flights to and from Jersey and Guernsey were earlier delayed, diverted or cancelled because of heavy fog throughout the day.

Exeter and Southampton agreed to join the two main Channel Islands airports in extending operating hours to give the weather more time to improve, Guernsey's airline Aurigny said.

Aurigny said it would do "everything possible to get everyone to their loved-ones this Christmas", while Jersey Airport said it would remain open "as long as possible" on Christmas Eve.

Staff at Jersey Airport advised passengers to check in as normal, with airlines set to give updated information.

The Ports of Jersey said a total of 860 people were trying to leave Jersey and 1,368 were due to arrive.

Aurigny said: "We are currently experiencing low visibility in Guernsey that is causing slight delays on our services today.

"We understand how important travel is on Christmas Eve, and we recognise how frustrating the weather disruptions are - especially today of all days."

The airline said it had partnered with Avanti Air to provide additional planes and had booked passengers to and from Alderney on to ferries.

Ross Coppolo, managing director of Guernsey Ports, which runs the airport, said he was "hopeful" of weather clearing in the afternoon, allowing flights to catch up.

Sarah Louise Stubbs, head of customer operations at Jersey Airport, said improvement was expected for Guernsey at about 16:00 GMT and 19:00 for Jersey.

She said: "There is no place for us to open tomorrow, but we will be remaining open for as long as possible this evening to make sure that all our passengers are with their friends and family where they should be for Christmas.

"All I can ask is that all passengers check in on time and to work closely with the airline for any advice that they're giving."

Luna Pinto Baker said her flight from Jersey to Gatwick was cancelled on Tuesday morning but she hoped to get away in the evening on a new flight to Heathrow.

She said: "It wasn't my Christmas Eve plans but I'm feeling fine.

"They've done a good job to do what they can. They can't really control the mist and that's bad luck that it arrived today, but that's the way it is."

Andrew Evans was meant to fly into Manchester from Jersey at 09:00 but the flight has been delayed until 18:40.

He said he was "pretty optimistic" he would still get to Manchester.

"I've been checking the weather forecast and you can see the fog lifting a little bit, hoping that that's right and eventually we'll get off the island."

Richard Benn, also on the same Manchester flight, said he had booked a different flight to Liverpool on Tuesday evening in case the other was cancelled, noting "that's just Jersey" when it came to fog issues.

Mike Ralston said he was meant to be out for lunch with his brother and family in Leeds on Tuesday but was stuck at Jersey Airport until the evening, when he hoped to be able to get to Manchester.

"We're trying to work out what flight to get, whether we can get a different one, but it's going to be difficult," he said.

Samuel Oakley and his wife Samantha still need to drive to Shrewsbury after they land in Manchester later, about 75 miles (120km) away.

"It's one of those things. You can't change anything about it," Mr Oakley said.

"I grew up in Jersey, so I'm used to fog," Mrs Oakley added.

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