World News
Planes Collide While on the Ground at Britain’s Heathrow Airport
According to airport officials, the wingtip of an empty Virgin Atlantic flight collided with a stalled British Airways airliner on Saturday while being towed from a stand at Britain’s Heathrow Airport. Heathrow, Britain’s busiest airport, stated that no passenger injuries had been recorded.
British Airways said, “Our engineering teams are assessing our aircraft, and we have provided an alternative aircraft to limit the impact on our customers.”
Virgin Atlantic stated that its empty Boeing 787 9 had just completed a trip and was being transported to another area of the runway when the incident occurred at Terminal 3.
Britain’s Virgin Atlantic representative said, we’ve commenced a full and thorough investigation, and our engineering teams are performing maintenance checks on the aircraft, which has been taken out of service for now.
The airline said its Saturday flight schedule would not be disrupted. Heathrow said it was working with emergency services and the two airlines to respond to the event.
Meanwhile, Storm Kathleen brings severe winds and the UK’s warmest day. The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for wind, canceling over 140 flights departing and arriving at UK airports. Scotland has also seen disruptions to rail and ferry services.
Wind gusts of more than 70 mph (112 km/h) blasted through numerous areas, with temperatures reaching 21.4C (70.5F) in eastern England. Cairngorm, a peak in the Scottish Highlands, had the greatest gusts of 101mph.
According to BBC Weather, Lakenheath, Suffolk, had the warmest temperature of the year on Saturday. This surpassed the previous high of 19.9°C in north-west Scotland in January.
The storm impacted England’s north and south-west and parts of Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Flight cancellations at Heathrow, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, and Belfast City delayed thousands of passengers.
Most affected flights were within the United Kingdom and to and from Ireland. EasyJet flights to and from the Isle of Man were also suspended.
Storm Kathleen, the 11th storm in eight months, was named by Met Éireann, the Irish meteorological office because the Republic of Ireland was likely to be most affected. As the storm advances across the island of Ireland, trees have fallen in the severe winds, leaving approximately 12,000 customers without electricity.
In Northern Ireland, the Met Office’s yellow wind warning for Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Tyrone, and Londonderry will be lifted at 22:00 BST on Saturday. The storm earlier destroyed part of the Titanic Belfast Museum’s roof.
Some Irish Sea coastal districts have experienced wind gusts of 69 mph and big waves. Winds gusted to 68mph near Capel Curing, North Wales. P&O Ferries has halted ferry services between Larne, Northern Ireland, Cairnryan, Scotland, and services to and from the Isle of Man.
The severe gusts have also caused sports fixtures to be rescheduled, with Saturday evening’s EPCR Challenge Cup rugby match between Edinburgh and Bayonne being shifted from the Hive Stadium to Murrayfield.
According to BBC weather forecaster George Goodfellow, the storm transported warm air from northwestern Africa over the North Atlantic.
He said: “It’s still sitting out there to the west of the UK; it’s moving slowly, despite the fact that we’ve had heavy winds. We expect really high winds tomorrow as well.”
“It is not unusual to have such warm temperatures in April, but compared to recent temperatures, [Saturday] is much warmer than it has been. “Suddenly breaking through the 20-degree barrier is quite impressive,” he stated.
While eastern sections of the country have been “a little windy in places,” the important thing has been how warm it has been, according to the forecaster. According to Mr Goodfellow, the highest recorded temperature for April was 29.4 degrees Celsius in Camden Square, London, in 1949.
While the storm’s strength is not unprecedented, he said the fact that Storm Kathleen would persist until Sunday indicates “it’s a fairly long-lived thing.” Rod Dennis, RAC Breakdown spokesman, stated: “This strong period of inclement weather will be extremely tough for anyone driving on the western side of the UK.
“We strongly urge drivers to avoid exposed coasts and higher routes where the impact of the very strong winds is most likely to be felt.” Over 110 flood alerts are in force across England, and the Environment Agency has issued 15 flood warnings in areas where flooding is likely.
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