Manchester Airport issues statement after fog sees 'half of flights' delayed

Scores of flights in and out of Manchester Airport today have been delayed after heavy fog descended over the region.

Greater Manchester woke to extremely misty conditions across the region on Sunday morning. And the poor visibility and resulting air traffic control restrictions put in place has seen widespread disruption for air travellers, some of whom have been delayed by over two hours.

The traffic and travel service Inrix said that, at the time of writing, there were still 'delays for about half of flights in and out of Manchester airport because of poor visibility as a result of the fog.'

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Due to the visibility issues, air traffic controllers put in place flow restrictions which slows the number of planes able to land.

The Airport said that, before daylight had fully broken, this led to a number of planes being held in holding patterns above the airport. And that the delayed arrival of aircraft was having a 'knock-on' effect on departures.

Some passengers said on social media that their flight had been delayed by over two hours. The departure board as shown on the airport website shows at least one flight being grounded for at least two hours, with others delayed by over an hour.

However, bosses say the weather is now 'improving' and that the schedule is 'returning to normal.' An Airport spokesman told the Manchester Evening News: "We have experienced some issues caused by low visibility affecting inbound flights this morning.

"This has caused delays to some outbound flights. Our resilience team is on hand to help affected passengers. The weather is improving and the schedule is returning to normal. We apologise for any