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London Airports See Hundreds of Flight Delays on Bad Weather

A passenger aircraft, operated by British Airways Plc, at Heathrow Airport Terminal 5, in London, UK, on Monday, Dec. 11, 2023. Saudi Arabia may ultimately gain majority control of London Heathrow Airport, Europe’s busiest, as several shareholders consider the sale of their interests, the Times reported on Sunday. Photographer: Jason Alden/Bloomberg (Jason Alden/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- Bad weather continued to disrupt travel at London’s busiest airports on Friday, as low visibility caused hundreds of flight delays and cancellations through the afternoon.   

As of 5 p.m. local time, about 30% of the flights at London Heathrow, Europe’s biggest hub, were delayed and about 4% of takeoffs and landings canceled, according to flight tracking firm FlightAware. About one-third of outbound services at London City airport were delayed, while more than half of the incoming flights at London Gatwick were late.

British Airways was hit hardest with almost 300 delays and 70 cancellations. The airline didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment.

The website FlightRadar24 showed some improvement in the afternoon, with average delays of about 22 minutes on arriving flights at Heathrow, and a 34 minute delay on departing flights. London City arrivals had 36 minute delays, while Gatwick showed 39 minutes.

Some KLM flights into London City Airport, a favorite of business travelers, were diverted to London Southend airport outside the capital, the airline said in a statement. 

--With assistance from Albertina Torsoli, Anthony Palazzo and Charles Capel.

(Updates status of delays in second paragraph)

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

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