Warnings issued as Christmas travel chaos continues amid UK weather alert and winds of up to 75mph

Winds of up to 75mph have been forecast for parts of the UK as the Christmas getaway period continues to see disruption and chaos caused by bad weather.

It comes as the Met Office said yellow warnings for wind, which came into force at 7am on Saturday, are expected to remain in place until 9pm on Sunday (December 22). The forecaster has also issued a new yellow warning for ice in parts of north-east Scotland, coming into force at 9pm on Sunday until 10am on Monday (December 23).

Wind warnings remain in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and in England the warnings cover the North East, North West, South West and West Midlands as well as Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Hampshire.

Heathrow Airport has confirmed around 100 flights have been cancelled on Sunday and passengers are advised to check with their airline before travelling. 10 flights were cancelled at Manchester Airport.

A spokesperson said: “Due to strong winds and airspace restrictions, a small number of flights have been cancelled today. This will ensure the vast majority of passengers can still travel as planned.

“We know how important travel at this time of year is and have extra colleagues on hand in our terminals to support people on their journeys. We encourage passengers to check with their airline for the latest information about their flight.”

So far this weekend, the strongest wind speed has been recorded at 82mph in Kirkwall on Orkney and the South Uist Range. Met Office meteorologist Dan Stroud told the PA news agency that Sunday could see gusts of up to 75mph.

He said: “There will continue to be more challenging travel conditions, with coastal areas seeing around 50 to 60mph winds. Extremely exposed coastal areas could see up to 70 or 75mph and parts