LONDON (Reuters) – Airline passengers in parts of the United Kingdom and Ireland faced travel disruption at airports on Saturday due to flight cancellations as a storm swept across both countries and left thousands of Irish homes with power outages.
The disruption caused by Storm Kathleen, named by the Irish Meteorological Service and the 11th named storm of the 2023-24 season, has affected flights at airports across Ireland and the UK, including Manchester Airport and Belfast City Airport.
Dublin Airport said travellers due to fly were being advised to check with their airline for travel updates after weather conditions at other airports led to some cancellations and flight diversions.
EasyJet said that due to the impact of the storm some flights to and from the “Isle of Man and Belfast International had been unable to operate” on Saturday.
“We are doing all possible to minimise the impact of the weather disruption,” the airline said in a statement to Reuters.
EasyJet said it was providing customers whose flights were cancelled with the option to transfer to an alternative flight or receive a refund, hotel accommodation and meals.
In Scotland, rail and ferry services were also affected and faced disruption due to Storm Kathleen with Scottish rail services implementing temporary speed restrictions earlier in the day.
Strong winds associated with the storm also had led to a number of power outages across the country, with approximately 34,000 homes, farms and businesses impacted, Irish power supplier ESB Networks said.
“ESB Networks crews are mobilised in impacted areas and responding to power outages where safe to do so,” the company said in a lunchtime update on Saturday.
(Reporting by Farouq Suleiman; Editing by Sandra Maler)
