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Storm Ciara is wreaking havoc on travel to, from and within the UK by air, rail and sea.
Many tens of thousands of airline passengers have had their flights cancelled. London Heathrow airport, the busiest in Europe, is worst affected with around 300 arrivals and departures grounded.
British Airways preemptively cancelled around 140 flights because of landing and take-off restrictions, while Virgin Atlantic grounded a dozen long-haul departures and arrivals.
Head here to follow The Independent's live coverage of Storm Ciara
But overnight many more cancellations took place – with American Airlines grounding a swathe of flights from Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Miami, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Raleigh Durham.
Delta’s arrivals from Atlanta and Minneapolis, and Air Canada from Ottawa and Toronto, did not operate.
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Created with Sketch.
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Waves crash into the wall at Newhaven in East Sussex, as Storm Ciara hits the UK
PA
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Firefighters rescuing a person from a car in a flooded street in Blackpool
South Shore Fire Station/PA
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Cars make their way through floodwaters as Storm Ciara hits in Accrington
EPA
4/50 Waves crash over Newhaven Lighthouse
Dozens of domestic and international flights have been cancelled as Storm Ciara is set to batter the UK and Ireland with heavy rain and winds of more than 80 miles per hour
AFP via Getty
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High water levels in Hawes, North Yorkshire
bezberesford/PA
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A fallen tree in the Longlevens area of Gloucester
Rod Minchin/PA
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Waves crash over Newhaven Lighthouse
AFP via Getty
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Flooded streets in Appleby-in-Westmorland, Cumbria
PA
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Poor weather conditions at Bramall Lane ahead of Sheffield United's Premier League game against Bournemouth
Action Images via Reuters
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The river Tweed bursts its banks in the Scottish Border
Getty
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A trampoline on the railwayline between Sevenoat and Orpington
Network Rail Kent and Sussex/PA
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Combination photo showing a crane at a building site in Worthing, West Sussex, which is rotating on its own in the wind
PA
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Manchester City's match against West Ham has been called off due to the extreme weather
Reuters
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Flooded streets in Appleby-in-Westmorland, Cumbria
PA
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Waves hitting the Cobb in Lyme Regis
Getty
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Flooded pitch at Bramall Lane
Reuters
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Waves crash against the breakwater during Storm Ciara at Wimereux, France
Reuters
18/50
The river Tweed busts its banks in the Scottish Borders
Getty
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Sheep cut off by a flooding River Tweed in The Scottish Borders
Getty
20/50
A lifeboat passes white cliffs, as Storm Ciara hits Newhaven
AP
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Storm Ciara is also hitting areas across Europe. People walk on the Erasmusbrug in Rotterdam, The Netherlands
EPA
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A woman holds a hand rail to steady herself as she walks along the harbour wall in Polperro, south west England
AFP via Getty
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People walk along the promenade as waves in break in a stormy sea alongside the lighthouse in New Brighton, north west England
AFP via Getty
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Traffic passes through water on the A66 near Bowes in County Durham
PA
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Cladding lies on the ground after falling from the Copthorne Hotel next to the Bramall Lane
Action Images via Reuters
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Damage to one of the stands at Wisbech Town Football Club in Cambridgeshire
PA
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Waves crash into the wall at Newhaven
PA
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A fallen tree crushed a car in Wigan
vickigregson/PA
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A man walks with a child and a dog on a dike against strong wind during the storm Ciara in Harlingen, The Netherlands
ANP/AFP via Getty
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Waves crash over the harbour wall by a lighthouse as Storm Ciara hits Newhaven
AP
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Onlookers watch the storm-churned waters at Newhaven
PA
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Police attending the scene of a fallen tree blocking Furze Platt Road, Maidenhead
PA
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People get blown by the wind as waves crash over the harbour wall as Storm Ciara hits Newhaven
AP
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Body boarders ride the stormy waves at Broad Haven, Pembrokeshire as Storm Ciara approaches the Welsh coastline
Reuters
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Waves crash against wind turbines at Boulogne-sur-Mer, France
Reuters
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People walking alone Salthill promenade in County Galway as Ireland and the UK brace for Storm Ciara
PA
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Construction workers begin the process of dismantling steps at Galway's South Park after organisers of the opening ceremony to mark Galway's year as European Capital of Culture cancelled the ceremony due to bad weather with Storm Ciara due to arrive later on Saturday
PA
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People walking their dogs on Salthill promenade
PA
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Blackrock Diving Tower in Salthill County Galway being battered by waves
PA
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A body boarder rides the stormy waves at Broad Haven
Reuters
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Getty Images
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PA
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AFP via Getty Images
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PA
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PA
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PA
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PA
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PA
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Waves crash into the wall at Newhaven in East Sussex, as Storm Ciara hits the UK
PA
2/50
Firefighters rescuing a person from a car in a flooded street in Blackpool
South Shore Fire Station/PA
3/50
Cars make their way through floodwaters as Storm Ciara hits in Accrington
EPA
4/50 Waves crash over Newhaven Lighthouse
Dozens of domestic and international flights have been cancelled as Storm Ciara is set to batter the UK and Ireland with heavy rain and winds of more than 80 miles per hour
AFP via Getty
5/50
High water levels in Hawes, North Yorkshire
bezberesford/PA
6/50
A fallen tree in the Longlevens area of Gloucester
Rod Minchin/PA
7/50
Waves crash over Newhaven Lighthouse
AFP via Getty
8/50
Flooded streets in Appleby-in-Westmorland, Cumbria
PA
9/50
Poor weather conditions at Bramall Lane ahead of Sheffield United's Premier League game against Bournemouth
Action Images via Reuters
10/50
The river Tweed bursts its banks in the Scottish Border
Getty
11/50
A trampoline on the railwayline between Sevenoat and Orpington
Network Rail Kent and Sussex/PA
12/50
Combination photo showing a crane at a building site in Worthing, West Sussex, which is rotating on its own in the wind
PA
13/50
Manchester City's match against West Ham has been called off due to the extreme weather
Reuters
14/50
Flooded streets in Appleby-in-Westmorland, Cumbria
PA
15/50
Waves hitting the Cobb in Lyme Regis
Getty
16/50
Flooded pitch at Bramall Lane
Reuters
17/50
Waves crash against the breakwater during Storm Ciara at Wimereux, France
Reuters
18/50
The river Tweed busts its banks in the Scottish Borders
Getty
19/50
Sheep cut off by a flooding River Tweed in The Scottish Borders
Getty
20/50
A lifeboat passes white cliffs, as Storm Ciara hits Newhaven
AP
21/50
Storm Ciara is also hitting areas across Europe. People walk on the Erasmusbrug in Rotterdam, The Netherlands
EPA
22/50
A woman holds a hand rail to steady herself as she walks along the harbour wall in Polperro, south west England
AFP via Getty
23/50
People walk along the promenade as waves in break in a stormy sea alongside the lighthouse in New Brighton, north west England
AFP via Getty
24/50
Traffic passes through water on the A66 near Bowes in County Durham
PA
25/50
Cladding lies on the ground after falling from the Copthorne Hotel next to the Bramall Lane
Action Images via Reuters
26/50
Damage to one of the stands at Wisbech Town Football Club in Cambridgeshire
PA
27/50
Waves crash into the wall at Newhaven
PA
28/50
A fallen tree crushed a car in Wigan
vickigregson/PA
29/50
A man walks with a child and a dog on a dike against strong wind during the storm Ciara in Harlingen, The Netherlands
ANP/AFP via Getty
30/50
Waves crash over the harbour wall by a lighthouse as Storm Ciara hits Newhaven
AP
31/50
Onlookers watch the storm-churned waters at Newhaven
PA
32/50
Police attending the scene of a fallen tree blocking Furze Platt Road, Maidenhead
PA
33/50
People get blown by the wind as waves crash over the harbour wall as Storm Ciara hits Newhaven
AP
34/50
Body boarders ride the stormy waves at Broad Haven, Pembrokeshire as Storm Ciara approaches the Welsh coastline
Reuters
35/50
Waves crash against wind turbines at Boulogne-sur-Mer, France
Reuters
36/50
People walking alone Salthill promenade in County Galway as Ireland and the UK brace for Storm Ciara
PA
37/50
Construction workers begin the process of dismantling steps at Galway's South Park after organisers of the opening ceremony to mark Galway's year as European Capital of Culture cancelled the ceremony due to bad weather with Storm Ciara due to arrive later on Saturday
PA
38/50
People walking their dogs on Salthill promenade
PA
39/50
Blackrock Diving Tower in Salthill County Galway being battered by waves
PA
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A body boarder rides the stormy waves at Broad Haven
Reuters
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Getty Images
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PA
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AFP via Getty Images
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Dozens of short-notice cancellations and diversions have taken place to and from Gatwick.
The inbound WestJet flight from Toronto to Gatwick was diverted to Glasgow.
The leading airline at Gatwick, easyJet, has cancelled flights to Amsterdam, Basel, Geneva, Glasgow, Hamburg, Lisbon, Lyon and other destinations.
Among longer European services, cancellations include Air Malta to Malta and Turkish Airlines to Istanbul.
Norwegian has grounded a number of short-haul flights but its long-haul routes appear to be running a near-normal service.
Luton is seeing widespread cancellations – with easyJet grounding 40 flights to and from its home base.
Dozens of flights to the Bedfordshire airport are diverting because of crosswinds. Most are on Wizz Air. Many have landed at Stansted, and some at Gatwick, but others have diverted to Doncaster-Sheffield and Birmingham airports.
At Stansted, easyJet flights to Edinburgh and Munich have been cancelled, along with the Air Moldova flight to Chisinau.
Dozens of flights to and from Birmingham airport are grounded, including Air France from Paris, Austrian Airlines from Vienna, KLM from Amsterdam, and Lufthansa from Frankfurt and Munich.
An early Ryanair service from Dublin to Birmingham was diverted to Manchester, and another from Madrid landed at Liverpool.
At Bristol, easyJet has made several cancellations, including flights to Amsterdam, Belfast, Glasgow and Newcastle.
Passengers whose flights are cancelled are entitled to be flown on the next available service, even if it is on a rival airline, and to be given meals and accommodation as necessary until they can depart. But compensation under the European air passengers’ rights rules is not payable because the airlines are not responsible.
Rail services are severely disrupted across Britain, on a day when millions would normally be travelling by train. Passengers who decide to take their chances are warned: “Network Rail has advised all passengers not to travel today.
“Most services will meet delays, cancellations and disruption today.
“Any arrival times are only approximate due to speed restrictions.”
The West Coast main line is blocked at Oxenholme in Cumbria, with no services currently running north of Preston.
Avanti, which runs services on the line from Scotland, northwest England and the West Midlands to London Euston, tweeted: “Journey times will be DOUBLED, please avoid travel unless absolutely necessary.”
On the East Coast main line from Edinburgh, Newcastle and Yorkshire to London King’s Cross, LNER is running an hourly slow service between the Scottish and English capitals, with the journey time doubled to around eight hours.
Some journeys are being hampered by planned engineering work. East Midlands Railway from Sheffield via Derby and Leicester to London would normally provide an alternative route to both the East Coast and West Coast main lines. But work between Market Harborough and Bedford is extending journey times even further.
Trampolines being blown onto lines temporarily halted services on at least two Southeastern routes in Kent.
Train crew shortage has also been blamed for some delays.
Ferry crossings between Dover and France have been halted, with P&O Ferries saying: “Due to strong winds all services at the Port of Dover are currently suspended. We will keep everyone updated once we resume service. We’re very sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.”
The Port of Dover is warning: “Sea conditions are very rough with southwest gale force 8 to storm 10.”