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Dense fog at Alicante airport leaves thousands of British passengers stranded in Spain
At least 18 inbound flights were diverted as thick mist blanketed the Costa Blanca on Tuesday morning
British travellers heading to and from Alicante were thrown into chaos yesterday after heavy fog brought the airport to a standstill and forced airlines to reroute planeloads of passengers to alternative Spanish destinations.
The Costa Blanca was shrouded in extraordinarily thick mist from first light on Tuesday January 13, making it impossible for pilots to land safely at Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández airport. By mid-morning, 18 planes had been sent elsewhere, including eight that had taken off from cities across the UK.
Tui sent five of its UK services to Ibiza instead, affecting people who'd boarded in Cardiff, East Midlands, Glasgow, Manchester and Newcastle. EasyJet meanwhile scattered its passengers across eastern Spain, landing one Birmingham flight in Valencia and sending planes from Gatwick and Belfast to Murcia.
Those on board the easyJet services received an apology explaining the situation.
"We're very sorry that your flight has now been diverted. This is due to low visibility in Alicante. The safety of you and our crew is our highest priority, and we thank you for your patience.
"We plan to refuel and continue your flight as soon as possible."
However, the airline made it clear that it wasn't taking responsibility for any ruined holiday plans. "The disruption to your flight is outside of our control and is considered to be an extraordinary circumstance," the statement read.
Around 1,200 UK passengers found themselves landing somewhere other than planned, and roughly the same number were stuck at Alicante waiting for delayed departures back to Britain.
Those finally leaving the Spanish airport faced hold-ups of about two hours. That's significant because it triggers compensation rules. Anyone flying up to 1,500km who's delayed two hours or more is legally entitled to food and drink from their airline. On longer European routes, that kicks in at three hours.
The fog lifted before lunch on Tuesday and weather forecasters are predicting mainly sunny or partly cloudy conditions for Alicante for the rest of the week.
The problems weren't limited to Spain. Winter weather created havoc at airports in Bratislava, Prague and Vienna too. Wizz Air had to divert a Luton to Bratislava flight all the way to Budapest, and British Airways scrapped a round trip between Heathrow and Vienna entirely.
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