Forecasters have extended ice and freezing fog warnings for Ireland after dozens of flights were cancelled in and out of Dublin.
For counties Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow, Met Eireann has issued a snow and ice warning to take effect from 11pm on Saturday until noon on Sunday, with the most substantial snowfall expected on high ground.
As of 9am Saturday, airlines had cancelled at least 23 outbound flights and 27 inbound flights.
READ MORE: Met Eireann Ireland cold weather timeline as rare triple warning issued amid brutal -6C blast
It comes after 69 departing flights and 74 inbound flights were cancelled last night.
The Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) said airlines have responsibility for de-icing planes, and this is what has caused the delays.
DAA media relations manager Graeme McQueen said personnel were stationed in the airport terminals overnight to try to help passengers rebook.
“All surfaces at Dublin Airport including runways, aprons, stands, roads and walkways were pre-emptively treated through the night and are fully open and operational again today as they were for the entire day on Friday,” he said.
“DAA’s teams were on hand in the terminals during the night to help passengers seeking to rebook their cancelled journeys from Friday, providing water etc to those waiting at airline desks.”
In a statement to the PA news agency, Ryanair said: “We are experiencing only some very minor delays/cancellations to our flights from Dublin today as a result of the ongoing icy weather conditions.
“While our teams are working hard to minimise any disruption caused to our customers as a result of these severe weather conditions, which are entirely beyond our control, Ryanair advises all customers flying from Dublin Airport today to check the Ryanair website/app for flight status updates before travelling to the airport.
“We sincerely apologise to affected customers for any inconvenience caused.”
A spokesperson for Aer Lingus said that it plans to operate “almost all flights today as scheduled”.
“We will continue to monitor the weather conditions across the weekend and wish to reassure customers our teams are doing all they can to minimise any disruption to their travel plans.”
Forecasters said the icy conditions and freezing fog could make paths and roads more dangerous, and warned drivers to be on the lookout for black ice.
A low-temperature and ice warning and a freezing fog warning issued for Ireland have been extended by 24 hours, until noon on Sunday.
Concerns have been raised in particular for the welfare of older people who live alone, for those sleeping rough, and asylum seekers housed in tented accommodation.
Temperatures are expected to be between 0 to 4C and are due to drop to as low as minus 5C on Saturday night.
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