Ireland is no stranger to winter storms but Storm Isha appears to be having a much more significant impact on air travel than any storm over the last few years. Airports across the country and also the UK have been severely impacted with 148 flights cancelled in Dublin, 10 flights cancelled in Cork and at least one cancelled at Shannon at the time of writing.
On top of that, there have been multiple go-arounds, diversions and lengthy delays for passengers. Dublin Airport spokesman Graeme McQueen said: “As of 9.30 pm, airlines have cancelled a total of 148 flights – 75 incoming and 73 departing. A total of 35 flights diverted to other airports, with 27 go-arounds.
Since 9.30 pm, there have been several more go-arounds and two further diversions to Shannon.
“Forecasts suggest that wind speeds will remain high overnight and into Monday morning, but wind direction is forecast to switch to a more favourable westerly direction. Passengers scheduled to fly on Monday are advised to check directly with their airline regarding the status of their flight. Passengers seeking to re-book cancelled flights are encouraged to do this online to avoid unnecessary queuing at airline desks in the terminals which will be extra busy.
“Our advice to passengers flying on Monday remains to arrive at their terminal two hours before a short-haul flight and three hours before a long-haul flight.
“For any of our car park customers delayed coming back into Dublin Airport due to Storm Isha, we will be happy to waive any additional fees they may have incurred as a result. Impacted passengers should speak with a member of staff on the ground or use the intercom facility at the pay stations before exiting the car park advising them of their flight details.”
The winds have been high all day today but these were the highest reported windspeeds at each of the main airports: (Sligo is quite possibly the highest windspeed I’ve ever seen in Ireland on a METAR!)
EIDW 211900Z 21027G49KT 180V260 8000 -SHRA FEW013 FEW018CB SCT023 BKN028 13/11 Q0979 TEMPO 4000 SHRA BKN014=
EICK 211830Z 23034G57KT 9999 -RA FEW006 BKN010 12/12 Q0986 BECMG BKN015=
EINN 211700Z 20024G53KT 9999 -RA FEW007 SCT012 BKN015 13/12 Q0980 RERA NOSIG=
EIKN 211630Z 22026G48KT 190V250 1800 -RA OVC005 11/10 Q0974 NOSIG=
EIKY 211630Z 22036G56KT 9999 -RA OVC030 15/11 Q0983=
EIWF 211800Z 23038G55KT 2700 BR BKN007 11/11 Q0987=
EISG 212030Z 24045G75KT 6000 SCT015 BKN035 OVC047 09/04 Q0971=
EIDL 211630Z 20031G46KT 9999 -RA BKN017 OVC026 13/10 Q0969 RERA=
Challenging Weather
Widespread challenging weather presents numerous difficulties to flight crews. For safety reasons, most airlines only permit two approaches during limiting weather conditions. This increases the risk of diversion which can bring many alternates to their limit very quickly. Strong gusty winds also trigger windshear warnings on aircraft which result in a mandatory Windshear Escape Manoeuvre. Flight crew also need to make a calculated decision on the amount of fuel to take – numerous factors need to be considered including available alternates, prevailing weather, maximum landing weight and other operational considerations.
This should explain some of the diversions observed from Dublin today including EIN553 from Lyon to Dublin that held for 1:30 between two approaches in Dublin before safely diverting to Shannon. FR555 from Manchester to Dublin diverted to Paris Beauvais following one approach in Dublin while FR5911 from Lanzarote to Dublin diverted to Bordeaux. Many airports, including Manchester, reached capacity and stopped accepting diversions which placed an even greater strain on surrounding airports. There were at least four fuel MAYDAYs at Manchester, a Jet2 737 from Plovdiv to Belfast, an easyJet A320 from Amsterdam to Glasgow, a Tui 737 from Sharm-al-Sheik to Glasgow and an easyJet A320 from Fuerteventura to Edinburgh.
