Thousands of passengers were stuck at Gatwick today as they battled to get home for Christmas after 75 flights to and from the airport were cancelled because of power cuts following last night's storm.
EasyJet has been forced to cancel 53 flights while British Airways were forced to axe 22 services as a result of the problems at the North Terminal caused by the failure of two substations. In addition, six easyJet flights have been postponed until tomorrow because of the disruption.
Both airlines were scrambling to swap passengers onto alternative flights with empty seats in an effort to get as many people as possible to their destination before tomorrow.
The situation was made worse by the cancellation of Gatwick Express train services from central London to the airport because of trees falling on the line. There were even problems with toilets being out of order because of the power cuts.
Separately, 70,000 homes remain without power this afternoon as suppliers face a race against time to restore electricity before tomorrow.
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Christmas chaos: Passengers wait underneath a blank departure board at Gatwick Airport as a power cut causes chaos today with people battling to get home for tomorrow
Christmas chaos: Luggage is piled up in the North Terminal at Gatwick as the airport is hit by severe delays today
Makeshift departure board: Staff at the airport had to improvise after the power failures
Chaos: People lie on the floor next to a Christmas tree in the North Terminal at Gatwick as the airport is hit by severe disruption
Bag chaos: Luggage is piled up in the North Terminal at Gatwick today as weather plunged the airport into chaos
Travel chaos: Bags are piled up inside the North Terminal at Gatwick Airport where there was a power cut earlier as travellers try and get home in time for Christmas. The picture was taken by traveller Daniel Cawthorne
Queues: Hundreds of passengers are seen in the North Terminal at Gatwick Airport after a power failure which was causing disruption
Frustrated: easyJet customers were suffering the worst of the problems, with 38 flights cancelled
Transport chaos: Olympic diver Tom Daley at Heathrow as he struggles to get home in time for Christmas after jetting in from the US hours earlier
Last night 1,500 passengers on 10 easyJet flights to the airport in West Sussex were forced to land at Liverpool's John Lennon Airport and told to make their own way on to their destinations. Another plane heading to Southend was also forced to land in the north-west as the storm battered southern England last night.
British Airways said they are allowing passengers to switch their flights to any airport up to 300 miles from their destination.
A spokesman for Gatwick Airport said that passengers were facing 'average' delays of around 90 minutes today and dozens of flights had been cancelled. A spokesman for easyJet said they had been forced to cancel 38 flights alone while dozens of others were facing delays.
The chaos was compounded by a lack of information and the closure of toilets, coffee shops, restaurants and other facilities due to the power cut, passengers complained.
Sinking: A plane sits in flood water at Redhill Aerodrome in Surrey today following heavy rain
Sunk: A warning sign is left almost completely submerged in floodwater in Redhill, Surrey, at the aerodrome today
Wet: A car lies submerged in Brockham, Surrey, today after a storm battered Britain overnight
Passengers took to Twitter to complain, first, that there were too few announcements and secondly, that the announcements that were made were inaudible.
One angry traveller said on Twitter: '@Gatwick-Airport is a disaster zone. Power failed, no computers and baggage cannot get to planes. Floors covered with people.'
Graziella Vella, a six-months-pregnant make-up artist from Kilburn in north west London, was due to fly to Malta to spend Christmas with her family.
The 37-year-old said: 'I am fuming and absolutely desperate - there has been no information at all and we can't make alternative plans.
'We're just hanging in limbo... at least if they said 'Nothing is going to happen, come back tomorrow', but there is no information of any kind.
Weather chaos: A tree crashed into a house and car in Poole, Dorset, last night as the country was hit by a severe storm
Travel chaos: A car drives through floodwater on a road in Uckfield, East Sussex, this morning as the country is hit by travel disruption on Christmas Eve
Flood threat: The River Severn in Worcester swells today after heavy rain overnight
Flood: Giles Wolfe canoes down the road in Eynsford, Kent, after the town was hit by flooding
Swans swim through floodwater around the River Severn in Worcester today
Flood: Christchurch firemen had to rescue the residents of Gladelands caravan park near Ferndown in Dorset today as the Uddens river flooded their homes. Residents were brought out on the brigades floating raft
Storm chaos: Two joggers survey the damage to two beach huts on Brighton seafront today after a huge storm hit the country last night
Storm: A beach hut is destroyed by the rain and high winds in Brighton as the country was hit by severe weather
Did you witness the rescues? Send in your pictures of the incident or the weather to mailonlinepictures@dailymail.co.uk
TRAVEL DISRUPTIONS
- Flooding and fallen trees have severely disrupted train services.
- National Rail have also imposed a 50mph speed limit, extending journey times.
- Severe delays on trains to Gatwick Airport and passengers advised not to travel
- Services out of London still suffering major disruption.
- Passengers facing long delays to flights out of Gatwick Airport's North Terminal.
- Journey's out of London Luton, Stansted, Southend and Southampton also facing disruption
- Roads and bridges closed yesterday have reopened, but AA have warned major routes across the country are covered in standing water.
'It is absolutely choc-a-bloc and in the check-in room upstairs there are 50 people queuing for the one toilet that is working.'
An airport spokesman said: 'Gatwick has 250 departing flights in total today. Out of 133 departing flights from North Terminal, 15 have been cancelled while 58 have departed. South Terminal is operating as normal.
'The cause of the power outages is related to the heavy rain overnight and fixes for the issues are being progressed as quickly as possible.
'Gatwick would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused to some passengers today and we are working hard to keep disruption to a minimum.
'We are advising passengers to check with their airlines before travelling and leave extra time for their journeys to the airport, especially given the weather-related road and rail disruption.'
At Heathrow, passengers due to fly to Geneva at 7.30pm last night did not take off until this morning.
Kate Maltby, a graduate student, said: 'The flight was due to take off at 7.30pm, after 90mins delay we were told we must check our hand luggage. Then we sat on the tarmac until 11pm when told we would not fly tonight, because a passenger was having a panic attack.
'A stewardess then told me privately it was more that there were 20 planes waiting to take off ahead of us, winds were getting higher, Geneva airport was likely to be closed when we got there and so the pilot was giving up.
'We then spent another hour sitting on the plane on the tarmac because there were no staff to see us off the plane. A customer service rep then boarded the plane and told us that we could not remove our bags from the plane that night.'
She was eventually allowed to leave the airport to stay in a hotel and took off this morning more than 12 hours late.
Thousands of people may be left without electricity for Christmas as suppliers battle to restore power to 70,000 homes.
Southern Electric had already restored services to 40,000 homes, but they face a race against time to deal with the problem before December 25.
Southern Electric spokeswoman Morven Smith said it had been a 'very difficult' Christmas Eve for the company, particularly in West Sussex, southern Hampshire and Dorset.
Ms Smith told BBC Radio 4's World at One: 'We have a significant amount of damage in the West Sussex, south Hampshire and Dorset areas, so we are focusing our attention in those areas to get as many properties and customers back with their power today.
'Realistically, it may be that we do have some customers without power on Christmas Day and for that we apologise. For all customers who've been without power at any time of year, it's not great, but at this particular time of year it's not what people want.'
Storm: a light aircraft is submerged in water at an airfield in Surrey after heavy rain last night caused flooding
Submerged: Three cars are seen underwater in Surrey in this aerial photo following the storm which hit Britain last night
Washout: A flooded airfield in Surrey following the severe storm which battered Britain last night
Across the country, five people have died as the country faced pre-Christmas travel chaos after the severe storm battered the country.
A woman died in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, last night and a man was seriously hurt in a crash as the storm-related death toll rose to five people.
The tragedy happened after a man died in Cumbria yesterday when he fell into the River Rothay at Ambleside while a woman was pulled out of the water dead at Nant Ffrancon, Bethesda, Wales.
An 81-year-old woman died in a crash on the A1 near the Berwick bypass in Northumberland yesterday while a driver died near Bolventor, Cornwall, on Sunday evening after three cars crashed in a hail storm.
Another man died after he jumped into a fast flowing river to rescue his dog in Newton Abbot, Devon. He was swept away while his pet managed to swim to safety.
Train companies across southern England, including South West Trains, had cancelled services this morning after 160 trees came down on lines nationwide.
Among the closures delaying passengers heading home for Christmas is Balcombe tunnel between Brighton and Gatwick Airport, which remains blocked due to flooding.
Snow storm: A train makes its way through the Scottish Highlands near Dalwhinnie today as the area is covered in snow
Disruption: A gritting lorry keeps the road open near Dalwhinnie, in the Scottish Highlands, as northern Scotland is hit by pre-Christmas snowfall
Snowy conditions: The spectacular seen on the A9 near Dalwhinnie, northern Scotland, where there has been a dusting of snow
Bleak midwinter: A car and a lorry make their way through the snow in Dalwhinnie, Invernessshire, as the country is hit by extreme pre-Christmas weather
Extreme conditions: A driver makes their way through the snow in northern Scotland as people across Britain battle to get home for Christmas
Anger: Catriona Koris was supposed to be going from Portsmouth to Bilbao, Spain, by ferry but she was left stranded in Brest, northern France with a long drive on to her destination
Christmas wait: People sit at Paddington station, in west London, as they wait for news on their train services. Services have been hit by delays and cancellations because of trees on the line
Christmas travel: People board a service at London Paddington as they make their way home for Christmas today
Departures: Some trains out of Paddington, west London, this morning were delayed or cancelled because of the bad weather which hit the country overnight
Train chaos: The Gatwick Express train service from central London was cancelled this morning at Victoria station while there were also cancellations on other lines
The line between Dorking and Horsham is also blocked due to trees on the line, as is the line between Exeter and Tytherton, which is flooded at Cowley Bridge and will remain closed for the rest of the day.
Network Rail also confirmed that land slips had halted services between Haslemere in Surrey and Petersfield in Hampshire, and between Watford and St Albans in Hertfordshire.
Damage to overhead power lines has also forced cancellations on the line from Clacton to Walton-on-the-Naze in Essex.
In Kent, the lines from Tunbridge to Kent and Tunbridge to Ashton have also been stopped by weather related incidents including flooding and trees on the line.
Weary travellers attempting to get from Redbridge to Salisbury, in Wiltshire, also face cancellations due to flooding. An earth slip near Purley, Surrey, has also halted services.
Prime Minister David Cameron was being keeping updated as power companies battled to restore supplies to those left without electricity.
He Tweeted: 'I'm across plans to get electricity to many without power. My thoughts are with them and those facing travel problems this Christmas Eve.'
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Risk: The Environment Agency has issued 284 flood alerts and 166 flood warnings across England and Wales
In Dorset, firefighters rescued 30 people in Sturminster, Blandford, Shaftesbury, Sherborne and Wimborne and in Bournemouth, 30 elderly residents had to be rescued from a flooded caravan park.
Despite the weather, the planned Christmas Day swim from Weymouth harbour is still going to be held.
The London Fire Brigade said they had 853 call outs last night - which is five times higher than the normal number.
The Environment Agency has issued 263 flood alerts and 154 flood warnings across England and Wales. There were also hurricance-force winds of 92mph in the Scottish Highlands.
A ferry which left Portsmouth for Bilbao on Sunday night was forced to dock this morning 600 miles away from its destination.
The passengers were forced to get off in Brest, northern France, at 8am this morning 36 hours after they left England - and still 600 miles away from their destination in northern Spain.
The ferry left Portsmouth at 10.30pm on Sunday night, docked briefly at Plymouth as scheduled and was supposed to reach northern Spain this morning.
However, because of severe weather it was forced to take shelter in the Bay of Biscay before docking in Brittany at 8am today.
Passenger Catriona Koris, who was going to visit her parents-in-law in Portugal, told the BBC last night: ‘They couldn’t get a port to take the ferry in.
‘At one point my chair slid from one side of the boat to the other. We have had injured people airlifted to safety. We have had helicopters coming down.
‘The gentleman next to us was airlifted on a spinal board and neck brace.’
This morning she Tweeted: 'Thx 4 for abandoning us xmas eve, nth France, no refund, no ferries to UK, no-where to stay, 24hr drive from destination.'
Storm chaos: A tree was brought down in Southampton, Hampshire, by the bad weather last night
Stormy: Waves crash over a wall near Saltcoats station, in Scotland, today as the country is battered by bad winter weather
Grim weather: Storm clouds gather today over Torrington, Devon, as the south-west is braced for fresh downpours
Weather: Christmas day is set to be wet after Britain was battered by a severe storm overnight last night
Storm damage: A car lies crushed under the roof of a townhouse which collapsed in the wind in Basingstoke, Hampshire, today
Roof collapse: This section of roof fell off in Basingstoke, Hampshire, and landed on the car below
Flood chaos: Cars go through deep water in Orpington, Kent, this morning after south London was hit by heavy rain overnight
Two men who were stranded in the Bay of Biscay next to their sinking boat have been saved from the ten metre high seas by RNAS Culdrose.
Navy search and rescue officers battled through last night's torrential rain and gale force winds to save two men who were stranded 176 miles south west of Land's End after their racing yacht broke in half.
The rescue, which has been described as 'very difficult' by Falmouth Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre, took a total of 12 hours. Falmouth Coastguard were alerted to the yacht's distress signal at 6.50pm last night.
Train passengers in Taunton, Somerset, were left stranded on a train all night because of flooding on the line.
Steven Rowe, who was trapped overnight, said: ‘The train was terminated the train at Taunton. We did not hear from anyone, were given free food but everyone was exhausted and getting very angry.
‘They offered to give the staff taxis. But they didn't offer a hotel. We were already going 50mph so the journey took longer and we hit a number of trees on the way.’
Passengers were put on coaches to Exeter and had to make their own way to Plymouth.
In Shrewsbury, Shropshire, a woman died and a man was seriously hurt in a crash which happened in 'difficult weather conditions', the West Midlands Ambulance Service said.
'Weather conditions at the time were very difficult. On arrival, crews found three cars at the scene.
Firefighters were undertaking life support on a woman in one of the cars. Sadly despite all efforts, it was not possible to save her and she was confirmed dead at the scene. A man from the same car was assessed but was uninjured.
Submerged: Staff carry supplies through flood water into Bathampton Mill pub, in Bathampton, Somerset. With the water still rising the pub has had to cancel all of its bookings for Christmas
Christmas cancelled: Sophie McCowen, looks out of The Old Mill Hotel which has Christmas meal decorations on the tables. The business faces having to cancel all Christmas bookings in Bathampton
Shutdown: Bathampton Mill pub sits under flood water, Bathampton, Somerset. With flood water still rising the pub has had to cancel all of its bookings and close for Christmas
Christmas is off: Staff at the pub (left) have had to cancel Christmas after the kitchen (right) was flooded in the storms that have battered Britain
Wet weather: Cars make their way through a large puddle near Bath, Somerset, this morning after a night of heavy rain
Travel chaos: A van is trapped by a fallen tree in East Sussex this morning after strong winds and heavy rain battered Britain overnight
Storm: Strong winds brought down this scaffolding in Plymouth, Devon, overnight
Weather chaos: The storms brought down a tree this morning in East Molesey, Surrey
'A man in his 30s from a second car was trapped for over half an hour. He had suffered facial, hip and leg injuries. A woman in the third car was uninjured.'
Five teenagers were also injured in a separate incident after their car rolled over in 'wet and windy' weather conditions north of Wolverhampton, West Midlands.
On the roads, the M48 Severn crossing was closed. Many roads were affected by flooding or fallen trees, including sections of the M25, the M5 In Gloucestershire, the A20 in Sidcup in south east London, the A22 in West Sussex, and the A25 in Surrey.
Among sections of roads closed due to fallen trees were the A286 in Grayswood in Surrey, the A287 in Haslemere in Surrey and the A303 in Chicklade in Wiltshire, where power cables were also blocking the road.
Christmas flooding: Water pours through a wall near Shepton Mallet, in Somerset, after a night of high winds and heavy rain which has left 100,000 homes without power
Travel disruption: A country lane in Shepton Mallet, near Somerset, is blocked this morning after a tree came down overnight
Soaking: A cyclist pedals through flood water in Halstead, Kent, after Britain was battered by a storm
Last minute shopping: People in Watford, Hertfordshire, pick up some last minute gifts on Christmas Eve
Flood chaos: Vehicles are submerged in Bathampton, Somerset, by rising water today
Winter washout: A car drives through a giant puddle this morning in Herefordshire after the country was hit by a heavy downpour
Soaked: Cars drive over a bridge near the River Wye in Herefordshire after the water levels rose to a very high level
Submerged: A Mini is trapped in floodwater in Maidstone, Kent, as Britain was hit by heavy rain overnight
Wet weather: The road is blocked by murky floodwater in Maidstone, Kent, after a severe storm battered Britain overnight
Last minute shopping: Taylor Hamilton, nine, (right) and a woman (left) pick up some last minute Christmas presents in Edinburgh city centre today
The giant snowglobe around the statue of Eros in Piccadilly Circus popped during Monday's storm
The Eros snowglobe is popular with tourists, but its bubble has now burst
CANCELLATIONS, DELAYS AND DISRUPTION: TRANSPORT UPDATE FOR BRITONS TRAVELLING ON CHRISTMAS EVE
TRAINS
Most of the routes affected yesterday are returning to normal as the worst of the weather moves North.
Network Rail said hundreds of engineers were working overnight to clear railway tracks across Britain and fix any damage caused by the storm.
More than 150 trees fell on the line yesterday causing huge disruptions around London.
Flooding is causing massive disruptions on routes around London with many services being diverted or replaced with buses.
Standing water around the tracks at Potters Bar means trains travelling north from Kings Cross are suffering delays or diversions and a number of services out of London Victoria have been cancelled because of a flooded tunnel and a fire in Croydon, South London.
Network Rail has now lifted the 50mph emergency speed limit in some areas, but there are still some residual delays.
Passengers are advised to check their journey before travelling as routes may have been cancelled or changed.
Downpour: Flooding caused major delays on train routes across the countryArriva Trains Wales: Services have residual delays.- c2c: Normal service
- Chiltern: Normal Service
- CrossCountry: Flooding causing disruption on a number of lines
- East Coast: Full timetable running as planned
- East Midlands Trains: Running a normal service.
- First Capital Connect: Flooding is disupting services. Passengers advised to use London Underground and Buses where possible.
- First Great Western: Trains to Barnstaple and Exeter St Davids unable to run because of flooding.
- First Hull: Running a normal service.
- First TransPennine Express: Services between Manchester/Preston and Cumbria/Scotland disrupted with short-notice cancellations possible.
- Gatwick Express and Gatwick Central: Some routes beginning to open but passengers are advised not to travel.
- Greater Anglia and Stansted Express: Significant disruption on all services.
- Heathrow Connect: Resuming to a normal service f
- London Midland: Trains between Bedford and Bletchley suspended. Bus replacement serbice between St Albans Abbey and Watford Junction.
- London Overground: Services between Highbury and Islington and Clapham Junction suspended because of planned engineering works.
- Merseyrail: Running a full service.
- Northern Rail: Some services may be subject to delays or cancellations.
- Scotrail: Suffering residual delays with some replacement buses in operation.
- South West Trains: Significant disruption for services in and out of Waterloo. Running a limited service with passengers being advised to use London Buses and London Underground. Engineers were forced to clear 28 trees from the lines and were faced with six floods.
- Southeastern: Running a limited service
- Southern: Passengers asked to plan for a later start of train services this morning. Trains from London Victoria suspended after a fire in Croydon.
- Stansted Express: Limited service.
- Virgin Trains: Disruption to Anglo-Scottish services all day.
ROADS
M48 Old Severn Bridge closed.
M42 one lane closed at J3 A435 (Portway)
People planning to drive on the M62 are advised to check their journey before travelling.
The AA have warned that some A-roads will have surface water and have advised motorists to stick to conditions. Have also warned that Trans-Pennine routes will be dangerous for high-side vehicles and motorcyclists.
AIRPORTS
Long delays and cancellations at Gatwick Airport's North Terminal because of a power cut. Some passengers have been queuing at check-in for more than three hours.
Long delays and cancellations at Gatwick Airport's North Terminal because of a power cut. Some passengers have been queuing at check-in for more than three hours.
Delays possible at London Luton, Stansted, Southampton and Southend
FERRIES
Port of Dover closed overnight with people sleeping in ferry terminal and in their cars. Disrupted services today between Dover and Calais.
FERRIES
Port of Dover closed overnight with people sleeping in ferry terminal and in their cars. Disrupted services today between Dover and Calais.
Many ferries between Scotland and the Northern Isles have been cancelled, along with a handful of flights from Glasgow Airport to the Highlands and Islands, including Tiree and Campbeltown.
The majority of CalMac ferries to the Outer Hebrides all fell victim to the storm, with many more of the firm's sailings to the Inner Hebrides and smaller isles also disrupted.
Polystyrene balls from the Eros snowglobe litter the pavement in Piccadilly Circus
The membrane around Eros wasn't strong enough to withstand the gale-force winds
In Northern Ireland, winds gusted up to 80mph on the north and east coasts, with police warning motorists of snow and black ice on some roads, especially south Tyrone and between Coleraine and Garvagh, Co Londonderry.
The Foyle Bridge in Derry city was closed to all high-sided vehicles, with a 30mph speed limit
Ferry services between Scotland and Northern Ireland were severely disrupted, with sailings from Cairnryan suspended until early afternoon.
The deep area of low pressure was expected to move away northwards during Christmas Day, with severe gales across the far north slowly easing.
But gales were likely to increase on Boxing Day, peaking during Friday.
But gales were likely to increase on Boxing Day, peaking during Friday.
Workers clean up and fold away the polystyrene after the membrane shattered
Breach: The river Yealm in Yealmpton, Plymouth, broke through a wall and flowed into Ford Road
Awesome capturing very very nice picture
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