Storm Éowyn has wreaked havoc on the United Kingdom and Ireland as the storm landed on the shores of the British Isles, resulting in over 1,000 flights being canceled during the early morning hours on January 24.
Over 1,000 flights canceled
According to data from the aviation analytics company Cirium, as of 10:00 local time (UTC +0) on January 24, 1,070 flights from UK and Irish airports had been canceled. The company pointed out that this was 20% of the flight schedule, warning that, since this was a live situation, figures were subject to change throughout the day.
Photo: Jarek Killan | Shutterstock
Still, Cirium detailed that as of 10:00 local time, 402 departing flights, 17% of the total departures, and 399 arrivals, 17% of all arrivals, had been canceled in the UK. The worst affected airports were Aberdeen Airport (ABZ), Belfast International Airport (BFS), Edinburgh Airport
(EDI), Glasgow Airport (GLA), and London Heathrow Airport
(LHR).
In Ireland, airlines had canceled 141 departures and 127 arrivals, or 41% and 37% of the scheduled itineraries, respectively. By a large margin, the worst affected airport was Dublin Airport
(DUB), where 119 departures and 109 arrivals had been canceled.
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Busy day of travel
Data from Cirium’s Diio Mi airline planning tool also showed that on January 24, there were 2,832 flights scheduled to depart from Ireland and the UK, split between 348 flights from Ireland and 2,484 from the UK.
In the UK, 
British Airways
, easyJet, and Ryanair
(including Ryanair’s UK subsidiary with a local air operator’s certificate (AOC)) have the most significant number of departures scheduled to leave the country’s airports on the day.
Photo: DAA Group
Only 
Aer Lingus
and Ryanair have more than 100 departures on January 24 in Ireland. British Airways is the third-busiest airline in Ireland on the day, with 13 flights departing Dublin toward either London Heathrow or London City Airport (LCY).
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Damaging winds
January 25 will be a more restrained travel day, with 2,380 departures from Ireland and the UK. According to the UK’s Met Office (the national meteorological service for the UK) and the Irish Meteorological Service (Met Éireann), Storm Éowyn should weaken on Saturday.
The UK’s Met Office warned that Storm Éowyn will impact much of the country on January 24, while January 25 “will remain a breezy day everywhere with strong winds persisting in the north.”
Photo: John B Hewitt | Shutterstock
Before the storm hit the UK, the country’s Met Office said it had issued Red Warnings for wind for Northern Ireland and specific areas of Scotland on January 24, accompanied by wider Amber and Yellow warnings for wind, rain, and snow.
Paul Gundersen, the Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office, said that the agency reserved the issuing of Red Warnings for the most severe weather that could endanger lives, which was the case for Storm Éowyn.
“While it will be widely very windy on Friday, with additional hazards from rain and snow, the strongest winds and most significant impacts are likely in Northern Ireland and central and southwestern parts of Scotland within the Red Warning areas, where winds could gust 80-90 mph quite widely for a time, and potentially up to 100 mph for exposed coasts in particular.”
The Irish Meteorological Service (Met Éireann) issued red, orange, and yellow warnings for the whole country on January 24, switching to yellow-only warnings about snow and ice for several areas, not including Dublin, on January 25.
UPDATE: 2025/01/24 13:33 UTC BY RYTIS BERESNEVIČIUS
In an update, Cirium said that as of 13:00, 1,124 flights had been canceled in Ireland and the UK.
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