Airport delays live: Fog causes disruption at Gatwick with snow and rain weather warnings to come

Northerly winds will draw cold air across the UK. Showers of rain and sleet will turn increasingly to snow, especially across the north, and coasts which are exposed to the onshore wind.

This cold, showery northerly may persist in the east, as high pressure builds in the Atlantic brings a period of more settled weather to western areas.

There is also a chance that rain may move in from the south over the first weekend of January, falling as snow as it runs into colder air. Into the following week, a fairly changeable picture is probable.

Wettest and windiest weather in the north and west, whilst the south and east will more likely remain more settled overall.

If you are flying from a UK/EU airport or on a British/ European airline and are delayed in arrival by at least three hours, the presumption is that you are owed hundreds of pounds in compensation.

The payment depends on distance:

• Under 1,500km, for example London to Nice: £220 or €250
• 1,500-3,500km, such as Manchester-Malaga: £350 or €400
• Above 3,500km, eg Birmingham-Dubai: £520 or €600. If a long-haul arrival delay is between three and four hours, the compensation is halved.

The only way the airline can avoid paying out is by demonstrating “extraordinary circumstances” were responsible.

extraordinary circumstances refers to “political instability, meteorological conditions incompatible with the operation of the flight concerned, security risks, unexpected flight safety shortcomings and strikes”.

Met Office chief forecaster Andy Page said the forecast for the upcoming week was “complicated” and urged people to check the forecast regularly in order to update their plans.

He said: “Almost the entire UK is covered by at least one weather warning during the coming week.

“With such a varied and complex weather situation, there is potential for the pattern of warnings to shift and possibly escalate in some areas.

“With lots of celebrations and people on the move over the coming days, we are urging everyone to keep checking the forecast so they can update their plans.”

Those hoping to travel on New Year’s Day should check road conditions and public transport updates before embarking on their journeys.

In Wales, the new year will be off to a soggy start as the majority of the country is likely to be drenched by up to 60mm of rain causing delays for road transport, potential power cuts and flooding.

A yellow warning for “persistent snow” likely to cause travel disruption has been issued for Orkney and Shetland during Hogmanay.

The Met Office alert covers all of the islands and is in place from 5am all day on Tuesday.

Up to 20cm of snow are expected in the worst affected areas, mainly Mainland and Hoy, with 5 to 10cm predicted elsewhere.

Longer road journey times are likely as a result of difficult driving conditions, the forecaster warned.

Delays and cancellations are building up at London Gatwick, the world’s busiest single-runway airport. Around 60 flights to and from Gatwick have been grounded, affecting an estimated 9,000 passengers.

While Sunday morning started with only some modest waits of up to an hour, by lunchtime the average delay extended to two hours. Some departures were five hours behind schedule, including easyJet to Aberdeen.

The biggest airline at Gatwick, easyJet, has so far cancelled flights to Edinburgh, Glasgow, the Isle of Man, Berlin (two services), Munich, Basel, Geneva, Zurich and Innsbruck.

One easyJet inbound flight from Nice diverted to Bournemouth.

British Airways has cancelled flights to Bordeaux, Gran Canaria, Jersey and Geneva, while Wizz Air grounded its departure to Larnaca in Cyprus.

The Spanish low-cost airline Vueling has once again cancelled some inbound flights, from Asturias, Malaga, Seville, Santiago and Barcelona, to avoid them being caught with long delays to land and return to Spain.

Norwegian did the same from Bergen, Copenhagen (two services), Oslo, Stavanger, Stockholm and Trondheim.

Swiss grounded its flight from Zurich, as did TAP Portugal from Porto.

Cancellations are likely to increase into the evening as crews reach their maximum permitted hours.

For those celebrating Hogmanay, heavy downpours and snowfall may cause “significant disruption” across northern Scotland, with up to 140mm of rainfall on Monday and Tuesday.

Up to 20cm of snow may blanket areas of higher ground while strong winds have the potential to “exacerbate impacts”, creating “blizzard conditions” which could freeze powerlines.

A warning has also been issued for “persistent snow” likely to cause road disruption in Orkney and Shetland from 5am onwards on Tuesday.

The new year will be off to a turbulent start with separate weather warnings in place for snow, wind and rain on January 1.

Worst affected areas could be covered in up to 25cm of snow, including Central Tayside and Fife, the East Midlands, northern England and the Lothian borders.