Flights Grounded at Belfast City Airport Amid Yellow Fog Warning

Most flights operating at Belfast City Airport have been called off following a yellow weather alert issued for fog. This interruption to services is anticipated to last until Thursday morning. The airport stated, “Due to adverse weather conditions across Northern Ireland, there may be some disruption to flights due to arrive and depart.” The warning, initially released on Wednesday, is scheduled to remain active until 08:00 GMT. According to the Met Office, foggy conditions are predicted to spread further across Wednesday evening, with visibility dropping below 100m (328ft) in certain locations. Motorists have received advisories regarding challenging driving conditions. The Met Office further noted that freezing temperatures might lead to the formation of icy patches and freezing fog, presenting an extra danger. Separately, demands have emerged for the salting of rural bus routes following a minor incident involving a school bus in County Antrim on Wednesday morning. Over 40 students from Cross and Passion College in Ballycastle were aboard the bus when it skidded on black ice on the Coolkeeran Road near Armoy, subsequently colliding with a wall. This marks the third occurrence in Northern Ireland involving a school bus within a six-week period. Ciaran McMullan, the assistant principal of the school, confirmed that no students sustained injuries in the event, but emphasized the need to learn from the “near miss.” “It really is unacceptable in this day and age where a driver has to drive a bus full of children to school and to ask them to take responsibility of driving roads which are untreated is really ridiculous in the 21st century,” he conveyed to BBC Radio Ulster’s Evening Extra programme. He recalled that the Drones Road, a primary route to Ballycastle, was hazardous last week due to snow and ice. Mr McMullan commented, “I just feel that very often with gritting and the treating of roads [it] is often too little too late, if at all.” Mr McMullan further stated that the bus driver’s familiarity with the minor road was evident and contributed to preventing a more serious incident. He recounted, “As I understand, the bus very slowly glided or drifted towards the wall that it did eventually hit and thankfully nobody was hurt or injured or traumatised.” He concluded, “But it was, what I would describe as, a near miss.” The Department for Infrastructure (DfI), tasked with road gritting, indicated that it salts primary thoroughfares that handle over 1,500 vehicles daily, which accounts for 28% of the road network. A statement from the department also noted, “In exceptional circumstances, roads with difficult topography carrying between 1,000 and 1,500 vehicles daily will also be salted.” However, Philip McGuigan, the North Antrim assembly member (MLA), argued for greater flexibility in these criteria. Translink reported that a bus transporting schoolchildren to Cross and Passion School experienced “minor contact with a wall amid icy conditions” on Wednesday morning. “Translink engineers salted the road and the bus was checked and able to continue its journey. There were no injuries reported.” In the Republic of Ireland, Met Éireann has similarly issued a yellow fog alert covering 17 counties: Cavan, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Kildare, Laois, Leitrim, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Westmeath, and Wicklow. This alert is set to expire at 06:00 local time on Thursday.