Storm Ciara: Planes forced to abort landings amid high winds

A British Airways plane had a bumpy landing during Storm Ciara winds (Big Jet TV)

Planes struggled to land and some were forced to abort landings amid high winds from Storm Ciara on Sunday.

Footage shared on social media shows aircraft grappling with Storm Ciara's heavy rain and gales, which reached 90mph on Sunday and caused widespread disruption.

Big Jet TV shared a clip of a British Airways Boeing 777 coming into land at Heathrow in a haze of rain, before taking off again to perform a “go-around” – in what is known as a "touch and go," a technique normally used for pilot training where the wheels temporarily make contact with the runway.

The plane is seen shaking slightly in the wind as it approaches the runway, where it touches down.

A go-around involves the aircraft climbing steeply and following a prescribed safe course to avoid other traffic.

Meanwhile, The Independent’s Jack de Menezes had a bumpy landing on a Flybe service from Edinburgh to Heathrow.

As the De Havilland Dash 8 aircraft came into land at the UK’s busiest airport, passengers were asked to adopt the brace position, Mr De Menezes said.

“The flight was a little bumpy on take-off but nothing bad, then fairly smooth for the duration,” he said.

He added that around half an hour before landing, the pilot told passengers: "I won't lie, the weather in Heathrow is looking bad. Strong winds means it's going to be bumpy but we'll give it a shot and see what we can do.”

Passengers had to be supervised to use the toilet by cabin crew, he said.

As Storm Ciara tore through the UK yesterday, an estimated 200,000 people were stranded due to cancelled flights on Sunday to, from and within the UK.

UK air travellers today are facing another day of disruption following Storm Ciara, with around 100 cancellations.

British Airways passengers from Accra, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and Philadelphia have also seen their flights grounded. The airline has cancelled a further 20 departures and arrivals at Gatwick and London City.

In addition 15 BA flights arriving a day late – mostly ski flights to Gatwick, including one from Geneva which spent three hours in the air before landing at Lyon airport having declared a fuel emergency.

American Airlines, Lufthansa, United and Virgin Atlantic have also cancelled flights to and from Heathrow.

At Gatwick airport, easyJet has cancelled around 50 flights on Monday, including multiple flights to and from Milan. Madrid, Berlin and Basel.

At Luton, easyJet has cancelled more than 20 flights, including links with Amsterdam, Barcelona and Paris.