Travellers returning from the Christmas break face another testing day as airports in five countries – the UK, Ireland, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland – report a combined 469 flight delays and 33 cancellations. London Heathrow once again tops the disruption league, with 18 cancellations and 92 delays by midday on 26 December.
The immediate causes vary: residual fog over south-east England, de-icing bottlenecks in Frankfurt, and winter-ops staff shortages in Geneva and Dublin. But the underlying issue is capacity stress at Europe’s mega-hubs during the peak holiday wave. British Airways has cancelled nine rotations and delayed 88 more; Brussels Airlines, Swiss and Lufthansa also report knock-on effects. Interline partners warn that missed connections could displace passengers onto flights as far ahead as 29 December.
If rerouting forces travellers to transit through countries that suddenly require different entry documents, VisaHQ can step in to secure emergency visas and transit permits within hours. Their online platform (https://www.visahq.com/united-kingdom/) lets mobility managers check requirements in real time, schedule express courier pickup for passports and track processing progress, reducing the risk of staff being stranded for paperwork reasons.
![Heathrow Leads Europe-Wide Boxing-Day Flight Disruption: 469 Delays, 33 Cancellations]()
Global-mobility teams should instruct travellers to download airline apps, enable push alerts and stay air-side if possible once through security to avoid re-screening queues during gate changes. Premium frequent-flyer status can help secure earlier rebooking, but non-status employees may need overnight accommodation; duty-of-care budgets should prepare for extra hotel nights.
Under EU261, travellers departing from any EU/UK airport are entitled to meals, refreshments and – when delays exceed five hours – the right to re-routing or refund. Employers should remind staff to retain receipts. Cargo managers should note that belly-hold backlogs could delay time-sensitive shipments such as clinical-trial supplies.
Looking ahead, Eurocontrol expects flow rates to normalise after 27 December once holiday traffic thins. Nevertheless, Heathrow slot overseers urge airlines to maintain schedule discipline to prevent a repeat of the summer 2022 crisis.
The immediate causes vary: residual fog over south-east England, de-icing bottlenecks in Frankfurt, and winter-ops staff shortages in Geneva and Dublin. But the underlying issue is capacity stress at Europe’s mega-hubs during the peak holiday wave. British Airways has cancelled nine rotations and delayed 88 more; Brussels Airlines, Swiss and Lufthansa also report knock-on effects. Interline partners warn that missed connections could displace passengers onto flights as far ahead as 29 December.
If rerouting forces travellers to transit through countries that suddenly require different entry documents, VisaHQ can step in to secure emergency visas and transit permits within hours. Their online platform (https://www.visahq.com/united-kingdom/) lets mobility managers check requirements in real time, schedule express courier pickup for passports and track processing progress, reducing the risk of staff being stranded for paperwork reasons.
Global-mobility teams should instruct travellers to download airline apps, enable push alerts and stay air-side if possible once through security to avoid re-screening queues during gate changes. Premium frequent-flyer status can help secure earlier rebooking, but non-status employees may need overnight accommodation; duty-of-care budgets should prepare for extra hotel nights.
Under EU261, travellers departing from any EU/UK airport are entitled to meals, refreshments and – when delays exceed five hours – the right to re-routing or refund. Employers should remind staff to retain receipts. Cargo managers should note that belly-hold backlogs could delay time-sensitive shipments such as clinical-trial supplies.
Looking ahead, Eurocontrol expects flow rates to normalise after 27 December once holiday traffic thins. Nevertheless, Heathrow slot overseers urge airlines to maintain schedule discipline to prevent a repeat of the summer 2022 crisis.
