Many thousands of travellers on Tuesday and Wednesday have been hit by transport delays and cancellations as Storm Bram sweeps in.
The Met Office has issued amber weather warnings for parts of southwest England, south Wales and the northwest of Scotland on Tuesday.
Yellow warnings for wind and rain cover Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland, as well as Northumberland, Cumbria, the Pennines and northwest England, including Manchester and Liverpool.
On Wednesday the warnings are for wind covering northern England and Scotland.
Dozens of flights and ferry crossings, particularly across the Irish Sea and in the Western Isles, have been cancelled. Many trains face delays and cancellations – particularly in Wales and Scotland.
Air
British Airways has cancelled the first wave of departures from London Heathrow to Belfast City, Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester. The corresponding inbound flights are also grounded, affecting an estimated 1,500 passengers.
The worst-affected UK airport is Belfast City. At least 18 departures and arrivals are grounded on Tuesday, most of them on Aer Lingus Regional. There are multiple cancellations to and from Birmingham and Leeds Bradford.
Dublin airport is hard hit, with many flights to and from Great Britain cancelled, as well as links with Paris and Amsterdam.
Aer Lingus has cancelled flights connecting Cork and Shannon with London Heathrow.
In Scotland, Loganair is offering passengers booked on flights on Tuesday and Wednesday the chance to postpone their journeys.
Under air passengers’ rights rules, travellers whose flights are cancelled are entitled to be flown to their destination as soon as possible on any airline, and to be provided with meals and hotels until they get there.
Compensation is not payable as the disruption is beyond the airlines’ control.
Ferry
Between Larne in Northern Ireland and Cairnryan in Scotland, all P&O Ferries have been cancelled except the scheduled 11.59pm departures from each port – which are expected to be delayed.
Stena Line sailings from Belfast to Cairnryan at 11.30am, 3.30pm and 7.30pm have been cancelled on Tuesday, and the 11.30pm service is “in doubt”.
All Holyhead-Dublin sailings on Stena Line are cancelled apart from the late evening departure. Irish Ferries has cancelled daytime departures on the route, with later sailings possibly affected.
All Caledonian MacBrayne sailings in the Western Isles are affected, with many routes cancelled for the day.
Key cancellations include links between the mainland and Arran, Barra, the Small Isles, Islay, Coll and Tiree, as well as the service from Mallaig to Armadale on Skye.
Northlink Ferries, connecting mainland Scotland with Orkney and Shetland, warns: “Present weather forecasts indicate the possibility of disruption to our services from Tuesday 9 December through to Thursday 11 December.”
Rail
In Scotland, speed restrictions mean many ScotRail journeys will take longer – and some cancellations may result. The key lines affected are between Glasgow Central and Carlisle (also affecting Avanti West Coast and TransPennine Express), Perth to Inverness and Aberdeen to Inverness, as well as links from Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh and Wick.
In Wales, the line between Pontypridd and Tonypandy is closed due to flooding.
Translink, which runs buses and trains in Northern Ireland, is warning: “We are experiencing some disruption and delays on our rail network.”
The Enterprise link with Dublin and services from Belfast to Larne and Bangor are believed to be the worst affected. “Passengers are advised to allow additional time for their journey,” says Translink.
Separately, some Avanti West Coast intercity trains have been cancelled because of a failure in the electricity supply between London Euston and Watford Junction. Services to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow were cancelled, and the return legs are not expected to run.
Rush-hour commuter services were also hit.
Read more: How do Britain’s rail fares compare with train ticket prices in Europe?
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