Fog disrupts Dutch, British and Polish airports on a busy holiday weekend

London's Heathrow Airport, one of Europe's busiest, advised passengers to check with their airlines regarding potential delays.

Gatwick Airport in London also warned that some flights may be delayed throughout Saturday and apologised for the inconvenience. Flights were delayed by up to three hours late on Friday because of poor weather conditions, and at least 40 flights from the airport, mostly short haul to Europe, were delayed Saturday morning.

The UK's weather forecasters, the Met Office, said thick fog patches could reduce visibility to just 100 metres in some areas across the country. It said travellers should allow “a little bit longer” for journeys and warned drivers to be extra careful.

Conditions are expected to improve on Sunday, the Met Office said.

The country's main air traffic control organisation said the restrictions would remain in place in areas with low visibility.

“Restrictions of this sort are only ever applied to maintain safety," it said. “Our teams are working closely with the airports and airlines to minimise disruption.”

Several other European airports also faced disruptions. At both the Schiphol and Eindhoven airports in the Netherlands dozens of flights were cancelled and others faced delays of up to four and a half hours.

Some flights have also not been taking off or landing at Poland's Kraków Airport due to the fog. Flights to Istanbul, Amsterdam and Frankfurt have been completely cancelled.

The flights from Toulouse, Madrid and Frankfurt that could not land at Balice are being directed to Rzeszów, Warsaw, Ostrava and Bratislava.

The complications come at a busy time of year when many people travel following the Christmas holiday and ahead of the New Year.