FOLLOWING a night of cancelled flights and naps on airport floors as a result of the extreme conditions brought to Ireland by the Beast from the East, questions remain over whether or not air travel is a possibility today.
The forecast suggests things are only going to get worse.
We've rounded up all the activity (or lack thereof) at each of the country's airports and major airlines. W
With Storm Emma set to arrive later this afternoon, people in Ireland are being urged to stay indoors from 4pm today until tomorrow afternoon and to avoid any unnecessary travel.
Dublin Airport
Staff at Dublin airport worked overnight to make way for a number of flights to depart and arrive into its runway this morning.
The runway re-opened at 5.20am this morning following snow and ice clearance.
Snow and ice clearing teams have been working throughout the night in very difficult conditions to keep the runway and airfield clear.
Aer Lingus has said it plans to operate the majority of its short-haul services this morning and aims to operate all scheduled flights to and from North America today. The airline said it plans to cease its other flight operations by 15:00 today.
There are other cancellations today, so please check the latest flight information with your airline long before making any journey to Dublin Airport.
Click here for updates on Ryanair flights and here for Aer Lingus.
Cork Airport
Passengers at Cork Airport last night were forced to sleep on makeshift beds on the floor of the airport as all flights were cancelled and all transport services from the airport to the city centre and other locations were unavailable.
Things aren't looking much more hopeful for those passengers this morning as the airport has remained closed until further notice.
News: @CorkAirport will remain closed until 10.00
Passengers are advised to contact their airline for the latest flight information.
Multiple flights are cancelled to & from Cork today. pic.twitter.com/4xKC6DmqsU— Cork Airport (@CorkAirport) March 1, 2018
In the last hour, the airport has announed that although the airport may open today, all Aer Lingus flights have been cancelled.
News: Remaining @AerLingus flights @CorkAirport today have been cancelled. https://t.co/Y4FXQTkDfW
— Cork Airport (@CorkAirport) March 1, 2018
Shannon Airport
In a statement issued this morning, Shannon Airport announced that it will remain fully operational this morning with the exceptional airport staff working through last night in challenging conditions to keep the runway operational.
Services are operating normally, with the airport’s first flights to Stansted and Heathrow departing on time. The inbound Aer Lingus Boston flight landed on time, while the Norwegian, Newburgh flight is expected to arrive at 10.20am.
The inbound and outbound Shannon service to Edinburgh (EI3675/72) has been cancelled.
Shannon confirmed that it handled 20 flight diversions from Dublin and Cork Airports starting from 04.20 yesterday morning until midnight last night.
A Shannon Airport spokeswoman said: “We are currently managing weather challenges and will continue to monitor the evolving conditions over the coming days.
"We have a 24 hour team in place at airport to minimise the expected severe weather conditions later today from Storm Emma.
"Shannon Airport is advising passengers intending to fly from, or travel to, Shannon Airport to contact their relevant airline or look at their website before travelling to Shannon Airport today.
In the event that there are delays or changes to schedule, we will post same on our Twitter account our Facebook page and on our website as soon as we are notified. People travelling to the airport are also welcome to contact our information desk at 061 712000 for any updates before making their journey."
Ireland West Airport
Knock Airport has said that due to expected adverse weather conditions there has been some disruption to their flight schedule for today with the cancellation of the Aer Lingus service to and from London Gatwick.
At this stage Ryanair expects to operate a full schedule.
Arrival of this mornings service from @STN_Airport with @Ryanair - the airport is open and fully operational this morning but advise passengers to check their flight status with Ryanair here https://t.co/w2xZ71mWxr #beastfromtheeast #stormemma pic.twitter.com/apuI5dQAAc
— Ireland West Airport (@Irelandwest) March 1, 2018
The airport will provide updates on Facebook and Twitter during the day should there be any further change to the schedule.
Regardless of whether your flight is going ahead or not, only travel if it is safe to commute to the airport.
People are being urged to stay indoors from 4pm this afternoon until tomorrow afternoon as Storm Emma beckons.
*Update*
Ryanair have now announced a number of flight cancellations across the UK and Ireland.
The statement is as follows:
Due to continuing adverse weather conditions, Ryanair expects further flight delays and cancellations at airports today and tomorrow (Thursday 1st and Friday 2ndMarch 2018) and we recommend customers check the status of their flight at Ryanair.com before making their way to the airport. We are doing everything we can to re-accommodate customers and we apologise for any inconvenience caused by these disruptions which are entirely outside of our control.
Ireland
Dublin Airport
A number of flights have been cancelled for Thursday 1st and Friday 2nd March 2018 and all affected customers have been notified of their options by email / SMS text message
Cork Airport & Kerry Airport
All flights to/from Cork & Kerry Airports have been cancelled for the remainder of the day, Thurs 1st March 2018. All affected customers have been notified of their options by email / SMS text message.
UK
East Midlands Airport, Leeds Bradford Airport, Edinburgh Airport & Glasgow Airport
All flights to/from East Midlands, Leeds Bradford, Edinburgh & Glasgow Airports have been cancelled for the remainder of the day, Thurs 1st March 2018. All affected customers have been notified of their options by email / SMS text message.
