Storm Callum: transport chaos across UK as planes, trains and ferries disrupted

Dozens of flights at Bristol airport were cancelled, delayed or diverted due to high winds

Storm Callum is wreaking havoc with air, ferry and rail services.

The Met Office has issued a yellow warning of strong winds across the west of the entire UK: Cornwall and Devon, the western half of Wales, parts of Cumbria, western Scotland from the Mull of Kintyre to Cape Wrath, all the Hebrides and all of Northern Ireland.

Dozens of flights have been cancelled. The highest number of affected passengers was at Bristol Airport, where a wave of arriving flights at lunchtime were diverted, resulting in the cancellation of about 10 departures.

At Newquay Airport in Cornwall, only the last flights of the day – on Flybe to and from Gatwick – are expected to operate.

Many flights to and from Exeter and Cardiff were grounded earlier in the day, with other services operating with delays.

At George Best Belfast City Airport, the entire first wave of Flybe flights was cancelled.

Loganair, which serves the Western Isles of Scotland, is offering passengers booked on 12 October to defer their trip by up to a week to avoid the risk of disruption.

“We are continuing to plan to fly all our scheduled services, and we have standby aircraft and crews in place to help recover any disrupted services,” the airline said.

At least a dozen flights to and from Heathrow have been grounded, including Aer Lingus to Dublin, Lufthansa to Munich, SAS to Copenhagen and British Airways to Madrid.

At Gatwick, BA services to Nice and Venice were cancelled, along with a Dublin service on Aer Lingus.

Some Irish Ferries services between Dublin and Holyhead in northwest Wales were cancelled “in the interests of passenger comfort and safety”.

Caledonian MacBrayne, which operates ferries in the Hebrides, has cancelled services on most routes.

Predicted high tides are affecting several rail routes, including the line along Ryde Pier on the Isle of Wight.

All trains between Swansea and Carmarthen after 7pm have been cancelled “due to anticipated coastal flooding caused by strong winds coinciding with high tides,” according to Arriva Trains Wales.

The train operator warned: “Severe weather is forecast to affect the Wales & Borders area through this coming weekend. Severe flooding caused by extreme rainfall and coastal flooding is forecast.”

Similar problems are being experienced on the main line from London Paddington to Penzance via Exeter and Plymouth.

GWR trains are running at reduced speeds, while CrossCountry services did not operate along the South Devon coast until after the morning high tide passed at 11am “owing to waves predicted to be overtopping the exposed sea wall at Dawlish”.

Due to predicted tidal flooding between Liskeard and Looe, all train services on this Cornish branch line have been suspended on Friday and Saturday.

The Met Office has also issued a more serious amber weather warning until 6pm on Saturday 13 October, covering South Wales, Gloucestershire and Somerset.

It warns that Storm Callum will bring “heavy rain during Friday and continuing into Saturday – particularly over south facing hills,” and says there is a “good chance” that some communities will be cut off by flooded roads.