‘Stay at home’: Travel chaos across UK and Ireland due to ‘once in a generation’ Storm Eowyn

A record-breaking storm is wreaking havoc with travel and daily life across the UK and Ireland.

Flights and trains are cancelled across the countries, and driving conditions are very dangerous due to the storm which meteorologists have said is “rapidly developing”.

Citizens have been told to stay at home during the dangerous weather, which is predicted to last all day.

Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland all have rare red weather warnings in place, signalling threats to life, and there are yellow and amber warnings in place across the UK.

Storm Eowyn has broken Ireland’s wind speed record, with Met Eireann recording an average wind speed of nearly 135km/h recorded at Mace Head in County Galway early this morning.

Heathrow, Gatwick, Edinburgh, Glasgow airports: Are flights cancelled?

Yes, hundreds of flights have been cancelled at almost all of the UK and Ireland’s biggest airports.

To quickly find out if your flight is affected, you can check the airport’s arrival and departure pages on their website.

It’s also worth checking your airline’s website, app and social media, and keep an eye on your email for updates.

In London, flights have been cancelled at Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and London City airports. The cancellations announced so far are until midday UK time but more are likely throughout the afternoon and evening. Here is a full list of London airport cancellations.

Glasgow, Dublin Edinburgh airports have cancelled almost all their departures and arrivals until mid-afternoon.

Storm Eowyn: Are trains running?

Several train operators have issued “do not travel” warnings over safety fears.

ScotRail has suspended all services across Scotland today, saying it “would not be safe to operate passenger services due to forecast weather conditions”.

Avanti West Coast, Lumo, CrossCountry and Grand Central have also told customers not to travel on routes across parts of north Wales, Scotland and northern England.

National Rail said the storm will also affect LNER, London Northwestern Railway/West Midlands Railway, Northern, South Western Railway, Southern, TransPennine Express and some Transport for Wales routes.

Homes and businesses without power and schools closed

More than 715,000 homes, farms and businesses are without power across Ireland, the Irish Electricity Supply Board (ESB) has said.

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Earlier, Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) – which is part of ESB – said more than 93,000 homes and businesses are currently without power in Northern Ireland.

All schools in Ireland and Northern Ireland are closed today (24 January).

Are passengers entitled to a refund or compensation during bad weather?

Under both EU and UK law, airlines and train companies do not have to refund you if the service was cancelled due to ‘extraordinary circumstances’. Bad weather comes under extraordinary circumstances.

So unfortunately passengers may not be entitled to getting their money back, though it’s certainly worth trying.

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Airlines do have to look after you during the delay.

In a statement about Storm Eowyn, the UK’S Civil Aviation Authority said: “If a flight faces lengthy delays, airlines have a duty of care to look after their passengers, including providing food and drink, and accommodation if overnight.   

“We will not hesitate to take action against any airlines not following these guidelines.”   

Airlines and train companies may offer you a later flight or train once the bad weather has cleared, so that you can still get to your destination.

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Contact your airline, travel agent or travel company to discuss a refund or compensation.

For more on your rights during flight or train cancellations, check the UK’S Civil Aviation Authority website or the EU’s Air Passenger Rights website.