The UK suffered heavy snow and icy conditions in the opening weekend of 2025. Rather characteristically, the conditions caused havoc on transport networks across the UK. Cirium, an aviation analytics firm, has released data which reveals significant flight cancellations over the weekend. On Jan. 5, 152 departing flights—6% of all scheduled departures—were cancelled at UK airports, along with 136 cancelled arrivals, totaling 5% of all scheduled flights.
The Worst Affected
Manchester Airport was hit the hardest out of all the UK airports. In total, 33 departing and 27 arriving flights were cancelled. Heathrow, Leeds Bradford, Gatwick, and Liverpool airports also saw numerous disruptions. Since 7am on Jan. 6, three arriving flights and four departures have already been cancelled. The expectation is that the numbers will continue to rise steadily throughout the day.
Though all planes are equipped to deal with icy conditions, Simon Calder, a travel expert, spoke about the challenges faced by airports during severe weather:
Airports go into a kind of slow motion, with the spacing between arriving and departing aircraft increased.
Calder added,
If the conditions require air-traffic controllers to increase the spacing between aircraft by 50%, capacity is immediately reduced by one third – and cancellations begin.
Weather Warnings
The Met Office has issued multiple weather warnings as snowy conditions remain likely in large parts of the country. An amber warning for snow remains in place until 6am on Monday in northern parts of the country. Rural communities have been warned that they are at risk of being cut off and significant travel delays are expected.
Less severe yellow warnings for snow, ice, and rain cover other parts of the UK. Scotland, Wales, the Midlands, and southern England are all areas expected to be somewhat affected throughout Monday.
Passenger Advice
On top of the cancelled flights, several airports across the UK also faced closures due to the adverse weather, compounding travel disruptions for passengers. Manchester Airport temporarily closed its runways on Sunday, urging passengers to check directly with airlines for updates.
Snowfall overnight also halted proceedings at airports in Liverpool, Bristol, Birmingham, Newcastle, and Leeds.
Despite efforts to clear runways and keep flights operational, passengers are advised to expect delays and potential cancellations as conditions persist heading into this week.
This period of snow has once again highlighted the UK’s transport systems difficulty to deal with extreme winter conditions, with aviation and road networks alike heavily affected.
With temperatures expected to remain below average, and with the threat of ice and snow continuing, airline passengers are urged to plan ahead, stay informed of updates and remain patient as disruptions look to continue into the week.
