Flights set for take-off as skies clear

WORRIED travellers were given an early Christmas present yesterday as freezing fog lifted to put travel plans back on track.

Predictions of more freezing fog did not materialise and the country’s airports avoided a repeat of Tuesday’s widespread cancellations.

In Cork, where more than 1,000 passengers were grounded on Tuesday, officials breathed a sigh of relief when the skies cleared.

“We are much happier today, bar three early flights, which had been cancelled since Tuesday, we have been able to get all the other flights off the ground, albeit with a couple of hours delay in some cases,” said the airport’s marketing manager, Kevin Cullinane.

At Dublin Airport the skies remained clear throughout the day and all flights managed to take off.

However, the airports were not completely free of difficulties as the weather patterns moved across the Irish Sea to wreak havoc on British airports.

This resulted in a number of flights to Irish airports getting delayed and this created congestion with timetables, according to Mr Cullinane.

“With the freezing fog in the UK some of the planes coming into Cork have been delayed. That means the turnaround flights are also held up.”

Kerry Airport was able to get all of its scheduled flights off the ground, apart from those grounded since Tuesday.

Spokeswoman for Shannon Airport Claire McEnery said the only disruptions it experienced were from the knock-on effects of the British weather.