Hundreds of Flights Canceled in the UK as Airports Brace for Storm Ashley

Storm Ashley has made for a disastrous Sunday for Scotland and Northern Ireland, as the storm has already caused power outages, flooding, and strong winds up to 85 miles per hour. Here are the latest updates from affected airports and airline in line of the storm's path through several English nations.

Storm Ashley By The Numbers

Storm Ashley has already touched down in Scotland and Northern Ireland, with the storm slated to also ravage through parts of England and Wales. The Met Office currently has placed an "amber weather warning" for western Scotland and regions of Northern Ireland, with other regions of these nations, in addition to Wales and northwestern regions of England receiving less severe "yellow warnings" for the time being.

According to data on FlightAware, 384 flights have been delayed, while 30 have been outright canceled for Sunday. Amsterdam Schipol airport has experience 328 delays and 21 canceled flights. Dublin's airport has seen 273 delays and 26 cancellations. 

A Dublin Airport spokesperson addressed members of the media regarding the storm:

"Storm Ashley is having an impact on flight operations throughout Ireland and the UK today. Some airlines have canceled a small number of flights in and out of Dublin Airport, while others are subject to delays. Winds are forecast to remain strong throughout."
 

Belfast City Airport and Edinburgh Airport are among other locations that have reported dozens of delays and cancellations in the single digits. John Lennon Airport has also canceled a number of flights to and from Liverpool.

When it comes to specific airlines, easyJet had to delay a whopping 715 flights on Sunday, and cancel 31 more. German-based Lufthansa canceled 240 flights with 12 being axed entirely, though the entirety of these flights might not be involved with Storm Ashley. British Airways also ended up having to postpone 238 flights while axing 24 from its schedule entirely. 

Aer Lingus has also delayed over 80 flights, and canceled two pairs of Manchester Airport flights each going to Dublin and Belfast. The airline has also cut flights going to Paris and Donegal.

Ryanair currently has just one flight canceled from Birmingham to Cork Airport, with two more flights diverted to Shannon Airport in Ireland. The airline has noted publicly that the airline will continue to monitor updates on the storm to potentially delay or cut additional flights, especially as the storm makes its way down to Ireland.

Loganair has also had to cancel a handful of flights, going to and from both Tiree and Barra, in the wake of Ashley.

According to Travel and Tour World, international airlines, which include American Airlines, Turkish Airlines, and Virgin Atlantic, have also pulled flights from their schedules over weather safety in the U.K..

Aircraft Flirting With Ashley

Onlookers have recorded several videos of planes in the wake of Storm Ashley that have been experiencing challenges during arrivals.

At Heathrow Airport, video footage was obtained of an aircraft struggling to land on the runway, due to the strong gusts of wind pushing the plane out of position. 
 

An individual on an roadway next to Dublin airport recorded a Swiss Airlines A320 also experiencing a wobbly landing where the aircraft couldn't ground as expected. 

Sky News has also posted a video compilation of additional flights from airlines such as Swiss Air, Ryanair, and Air Lingus, in which winds have blown aircrafts upwards as they were just about to land on their runways.

As Storm Ashley makes it way towards Ireland and England, additional flights are expected to be either canceled or postponed.