Three flights into Bristol Airport were diverted and one turned back to Dublin on Monday morning after thick fog settled over the South West, an airport spokesperson has confirmed, with live flight-tracking data showing several more arrivals rerouted to other UK airports through the morning.
A Bristol Airport spokesperson told the BBC that the first flights of the day, when most departures leave Bristol, were unaffected by the fog. After that, three flights were diverted and one service returned to Dublin. Live flight information at the time of the BBC's report suggested around 14% of flights at the airport were running late.
A Met Office yellow warning for fog had been in force until 11:00 GMT on Monday, covering Bristol and a wide area of South West England, Wales and beyond. The Met Office said the fog would thin slowly through the morning. Bristol Airport sits around 190 metres above sea level, among the highest major airports in the UK, which leaves it more exposed to hill fog than lowland airports nearby.
Live flight-tracking data reviewed by Bristol Airport Guide showed the disruption extended beyond the two flights named by the airport. Arrivals from Dublin, Newcastle, Glasgow, Amsterdam, Paris, Jersey, Belfast, Edinburgh, Turin, Istanbul, Milan and Toulouse were all marked as diverted or rerouted during the morning, with several easyJet and Ryanair services landing instead at Cardiff, Exeter, Birmingham and London Gatwick before continuing on to Bristol later in the day.
The Met Office has also issued a further fog warning running from Monday evening into Tuesday morning. According to the airport's comments to the BBC, that second warning is not expected to affect the West of England region, meaning Monday's disruption should not be repeated locally on Tuesday morning, though conditions elsewhere in the country may still be affected.
Passengers due to fly to or from Bristol Airport on Monday are advised to check their flight status directly with their airline before travelling, and to allow extra time if picking someone up whose inbound flight was diverted, since onward connections to Bristol can run several hours behind the original schedule.
What this means for your journey: if you're collecting a passenger whose flight was diverted, check the live arrivals board before you set off, and see our /parking/ page for options if you need to wait out a delay without paying for a full day.