MANCHESTER, UK — Flight operations at Manchester Airport (MAN) have been temporarily suspended following a drastic drop in visibility caused by heavy fog across the region but also lighting.
Visibility at the airfield fell to just 300 meters, prompting air traffic controllers to halt incoming and outgoing flights for safety reasons. Ground crews and navigation services implemented low-visibility procedures as conditions worsened.
Flights Circling and Diverting
With runway movements suspended, multiple incoming aircraft were placed into holding patterns over northern England, while several flights were forced to divert to alternative airports across the country:
- Virgin Atlantic Flight VS74, arriving from Orlando (MCO), was diverted Liverpool (LPL).
- Ryanair Flight FR554, inbound from Dublin (DUB), abandoned its approach and diverted south to London Stansted Airport (STN).
Additional regional and short-haul flights expecting to land at Manchester are currently holding or being rerouted to nearby hubs, including Liverpool John Lennon Airport and Birmingham Airport.
Passenger Advice
Airport authorities recommend that all passengers heading to Manchester Airport check the status of their flights directly with their airlines before traveling. Delays and cancellations are expected to cascade throughout the day as aircraft and aircrews are displaced by the diversions.
Operations are expected to resume once visibility improves above safe operational limits.
Updates
10:15 BST: Landings are resuming on runway 23R.
