Heavy fog halts flights at Manchester Airport as visibility drops

Fog reduced visibility at Manchester Airport to about 300 metres, halting arrivals and departures. Controllers stopped runway movements for safety, and ground crews and navigation services moved to low-visibility procedures as conditions worsened.

Several inbound aircraft were sent into holding patterns over northern England. A Virgin Atlantic flight from Orlando was diverted to Liverpool, and a Ryanair flight from Dublin abandoned its approach and continued south to London Stansted. Other regional and short-haul services due into Manchester held or were rerouted to nearby airports, including Liverpool John Lennon and Birmingham.

Passengers travelling to Manchester were advised to check their flight status with their airline before setting out. The airport said delays and cancellations were likely to ripple through the day, with aircraft and crews left out of position by the diversions.

Operations were expected to restart once visibility improved past safe limits. By 10:15 local time, landings had resumed on runway 23R.