Airlines Jet2 and Ryanair have issued statements about what passengers need to do as widespread snow hit the country today. Some areas have been hit by several inches of snow and anyone planning to fly away is being told they could face issues.
The Met Office has put three yellow warnings for snow and ice in place in the North, the Midlands, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland – advising that vehicles could be stranded, power cuts may occur and rural areas could be cut off.
In a new statement today Jet2 said people should monitor its App for all changes. “Our Operations Team is continually monitoring the UK forecast to provide the most up to date information for all Jet2.com departures and arrivals on Tuesday 19 November and Wednesday 20 November.
“The Met Office has warned that wintery conditions are due to impact parts of the UK in the coming days. As usual, we plan to operate all our flights on schedule, however, there may be some disruption if the weather worsens.
P”lease arrive at the airport as normal (our check-in desks close 40 minutes prior to your scheduled departure time). If your flight is disrupted, we’ll contact you via SMS and email. Regular updates will also be posted on this page. Please ensure we have your most up-to-date contact information by accessing ‘Manage My Booking’ on our website or via the Jet2 app.
“We’d like to apologise in advance for any disruption you may experience due to the weather, which is outside of our control.”
Ryanair said: “Affected passengers will be notified and any passengers travelling to/from The UK on Mon 18 and Tue 19 Nov should check their Ryanair app for the latest updates on their flight. We regret any inconvenience caused to passengers by these weather conditions, which are outside of Ryanair’s control and affect all airlines operating to/from The UK on Mon 18 and Tue 19 Nov.”
The Met Office yellow warning for England has been issued until 11am today (Nov 19) and the warning for Scotland will remain in place until 10am on Wednesday. A number of schools in England and Wales were closed on Tuesday due to the conditions.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued the first amber cold weather health alert of the season, warning conditions could be dangerous for vulnerable people, including the elderly. The amber warning covers the east and north of England, the Midlands, and Yorkshire and the Humber, with yellow alerts coming into place for the South East, South West and London at 8am on Tuesday, lasting until 6pm on Saturday.
National Rail warned the cold climate would affect various routes on northern train services until at least 2pm on Tuesday. Mersey Rail issued an alert warning passengers that due to the potential of snow and ice covering tracks, the first service on each line in north-west England would run without customers to ensure conditions could be checked.
National Highways also sent out a severe amber weather alert for snow, with the M1 in Leeds and Sheffield, the M56 in Manchester, junction 39 of the M6 and junctions 21-23 of the M62 likely to see disruption. The Met Office, which described the conditions as “the first taste of winter”, said 5-10cm of snow would prove disruptive in England, with Derbyshire being the area most likely to be affected.