Thick fog warning issued as London airports set to be affected

The Met Office is warning of delays to airlines jetting off from major airports this morning as a low fog sweeps across southern and central parts of England. The forecaster has put a yellow weather warning in place from 4am until at least 10am due to a potentially dangerous lack of visibility affecting the morning commute. London City Airport is among the first to urge passengers to check before they travel for potential weather-induced delays. Bosses at the airport said: “Due to adverse weather conditions, please check the status of your flight before travelling to the airport.”The situation won’t be much better on the ground according to the Met Office whose statement said: “Areas of fog will reduce the visibility to around 100 metres in places this morning, leading to difficult driving conditions.”There are five regions blanketed by this new fog warning and they include eastern England, London and the southeast, the East and West Midlands, and Yorkshire & Humber. People should expect slower journey times – esepecially with bus and train service cancellations possible – and to be prepared for potential disruption at the airport. So far it’s only London City Airport which has issued a visibility alert, but this could be subject to change. Live departure boards at London Heathrow currently indicate scheduled flights are going ahead as planned with gates boarding ready for take-off. Meanwhile at London Gatwick all flights are also landing and jetting off as planned.  Flights may be delayed or cancelled and driving conditions will be poor this morning (Image: Met Office/Getty) Many early morning commuters slowly took to the roads early this morning (Image: George Cracknell Wright/LNP)Two easyJet flights from London Luton took off at 7am too – which indicates the worst of the fog may not be affecting operations just yet. On the trains, there are some delays for Greater Anglia, the company based in Essex and Cambridgeshire – but this is apparently due to a “points failure”, the firm has said. For those still planning on driving this morning, the Met Office has issued some handy advice which includes dipping headlights and avoiding full-beams due to this causing a “white wall” effect, a non-helpful move when visibility is already dire.Be speed aware, the forecaster said, as fog can give the illusion of moving in slow motion and remember to turn off fog lights the moment visiblity improves. Drivers have also been told not to hang on the tail lights of those in front as rear lights can “give a false sense of security.”The Met Office said: “Warnings of dense fog are issued when visibility is expected to fall below 200 metres. Severe disruption to transport occurs when the visibility falls below 50 metres.”READ MORE: Expert shares top tips on caring for electric cars in winter The cold air meeting the warm air has likely caused the fog this morning (Image: WX CHARTS) Tomorrow stronger winds have been forecast as the unsettled week gets underway (Image: WX CHARTS)In terms of aviation, the forecaster also explained why winter flights are more susceptible to delays. It added: “The weather forecast is a key element of the pilot’s pre-flight checks and flight crew will continually update their weather information throughout a flight.”Fog, snow, ice and crosswinds mean that air traffic controllers have to increase the gap between planes that are landing, reducing the number of aircraft that an airport can manage. The same weather can make it slower and more difficult for the planes to taxi between runway and terminal building.”As many commercial flights are cruising more than five miles above the ground, they can be affected by different weather than we are experiencing on the ground.” It goes on to issue some crucial advice for those planning on catching a flight this winter.”If you are travelling by air in winter, check the weather forecast the night before and plan accordingly. In poor weather allow extra time to get to the airport and have a contingency in mind in case of a weather delay. Check with your airline if you think a delay is possible. On most occasions the advice will be to arrive at the airport as normal but sometimes that will change.”DON’T MISS:Russia gives Iran seized British weapons [INSIGHT]Sean Penn hands over Oscar to Zelensky as Ukraine war rages on [ANALYSIS]UK to send fighter jets and Chinooks to Russia’s doorstep [VIDEO]The forecast is set to improve later on with fog lifting into low cloud through the day. Then a band of cloud and rain will move across western areas edging east into central parts. Tonight people can expect cloudy weather with some rain or drizzle moving into eastern areas with low cloud and hill fog clearing later.Further rain, some heavy, and strong winds into the west. Tomorrow is set to be wet – with heavy rain at times lashing the east and norhtern areas, with parts of the northeast prone to gales. Unfortunately the unsettled pattern of weather is expected to last all week, with the Met Office adding: “Unsettled and often windy with showers or longer spells of rain all areas, though some drier interludes for many too. Gales or severe gales in the far northeast. Feeling colder.”