STORM Pia caused chaos around the Christmas getaway today as 80km/h winds lashed Britain and brought holiday travel plans to a screeching halt.
Strong winds are expected to hit much of the country by 9pm as fallen trees block roads, dozens of flights are grounded and trains are cancelled.
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A tree has fallen on a house in the Derbyshire village of Stanley Credit: Paul Tonge
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A packed hall at London Euston, where all trains have been canceled Credit: @neilhassall
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St Pancras is also rising after a ‘last minute’ strike halted EurostarCredit: LNP
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A passenger jumps the barrier at the station Credits: LNP
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Wind overturned a lorry on the M60 near ManchesterCredit: MEN
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The plane had to abort landing at Birmingham AirportCredit: Newsflare
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The storm blew broken glass at Bolton M&S. Credit: David Holmes/MEN
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A fallen tree blocked this road in Cirencester, Gloucestershire Credit: Marc Giddings
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Downed tree in Derby on Thursday morningCredit: @Penguin_PR / X
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Storm Pia hit the Blackpool coast on Thursday morning
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There are delays at major UK airports, including ManchesterCredit: LNP
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Area covered by today’s weather warningCredit: MET Office
The Eurostar was brought to a sudden halt by a strike, trapping those trying to get home for the winter break.
Their holiday plans were thrown into chaos after militant union bosses demanded a ransom from their bosses over their holiday bonus.
All services to and from London were suspended at midday after demands for a one-off payment of £2,600 (€3,000) were refused.
Scotland, Northern Ireland, North Wales, North England, the Midlands and East Anglia are all covered by a wind warning.
Travel by road, train, plane and ferry will take longer, and short power outages are expected.
British Airways canceled about twenty domestic and European flights to and from London Heathrow, including multiple connections to and from Amsterdam.
Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow are also among the routes that have had cancellations.
A British Airways spokesman said: “Due to strong winds forecast as part of Storm Pia, we have made some adjustments to our timetable with as little notice as possible to our customers.
“We apologize for the disruption to their travel plans and our teams are working hard to get their journeys back on track as soon as possible.”
All trains to and from London Euston were canceled after overhead power lines fell onto the tracks at Watford Junction.
Euston Hall is now packed with commuters hoping to get a train home from the station for Christmas.
Footage taken this morning shows passengers queuing at Manchester Airport’s Terminal 1.
Pilots battled to land the diverted plane at Birmingham Airport in 50mph crosswinds.
The Aer Lingus ATR 72-600 propeller plane was diverted from Leeds Bradford and the pilots aborted their first attempt to land in Birmingham.
During the second landing attempt, the cabin rocked violently as the wind buffeted it.
A Finnair flight from Helsinki to Manchester also aborted landing moments before its wheels touched the runway.
TransPennine Express has issued a “Do Not Travel” warning until 3pm for customers planning to travel to and from Edinburgh.
ScotRail has also canceled trains on seven routes including Inverness to Aberdeen.
Kings Cross St Pancras was flooded with distraught passengers abandoned by Eurostar.
Several trains were already heading for the Channel Tunnel when they were forced to return to their starting point.
Dozens of others were killed at the last minute.
Passengers were urged to make alternative arrangements and claim refunds, but Eurostar’s app crashed amid the surge.
A furious Frank Knight raged: “This is actually scandalous.
“Shame on these people who are making Christmas miserable for so many people here in the UK who want to go back to France for Christmas.
“Disgusting….if that’s how you’re using your right to strike, you should all lose your jobs.”
Another devastated passenger said: “You’ve just ruined my Christmas.
“It was supposed to be my first Christmas with a girlfriend, you ruined it!”
One raged: “French unions have just reserved a special place in hell.
“First they attack in the air and now they take us all hostage in a train/car through the tunnel. Ferry is also not an option with the storm. This is pure crime.”
Andy Derbyshire stormed: “How could this happen so suddenly? Now I’m stuck in Paris with no support and no staff to talk to.
“What was the contingency plan?”
Missing Andrew Hinton, 67, from North Wales, headed to Brussels with his wife to enjoy the festivities with their son and his family.
The dad-of-three said: “I’ve just had to book a flight from Heathrow to Brussels.
“We are completely frustrated because we organized this a few weeks ago.
“We lost a day of our Christmas vacation with the family.”
Student Jennifer McCann, 23, from Egham, Surrey, had hoped to surprise her family in Frankfurt by traveling home for Christmas.
But she said: “I don’t know what to do now. I’ll have to try to find an alternative way.
“Everything was supposed to be a surprise. They have no idea I’m coming back.”
The M20 coast-bound carriageway between junctions 8 and 9 is also temporarily closed due to the suspension of Eurotunnel services, Kent Police said.
The “emergency measure” will allow goods traveling to the continent to queue on an empty stretch of highway to minimize disruption.
Last night a Eurostar spokesman said: “Due to a last-minute strike by Eurotunnel staff, there has been no Channel Tunnel crossing since 12pm.
“Unfortunately, Eurostar has had to cancel all trains to and from London until further notice.
“Affected customers will be notified directly of their journey and can exchange their tickets free of charge or request a refund.
“We are closely monitoring the situation and our teams are currently working to minimize the impact on our customers.”
Le Shuttle said: “Due to industrial action our service has been suspended.
“We are warning customers that, as a result of this incident, access to our site is currently unavailable.
“If you are traveling today, please make alternative arrangements or change your booking.”
Getlink, which owns the Channel Tunnel and operates Eurotunnel Le Shuttle services, said the unions had rejected £867 (€1,000).
Instead, they wanted three times as much.
A spokesman for Getlink said: “A strike by Eurotunnel staff union representatives in France has resulted in a total disruption to service and the closure of our terminals in France and the UK.”
Meanwhile, those living in coastal areas of the UK have been warned to watch out for spray and large waves on the seashore.
The extensive wind system was named Storm Pia by the Danish Meteorological Office.
Forecasters said there could be winds of up to 70 mph to the north of the warning area.
Gusts could briefly reach 80mph in far north Scotland and the Northern Isles.
All schools in the Shetland Islands are closed as locals prepare for the storm.
Locals were left reeling after the wind blew out glass at the entrance to M&S in Bolton, Greater Manchester.
While Christmas markets in Liverpool and Hereford have been closed following a yellow warning.
Met Office expert Paul Gundersen said: “Strong winds are likely to develop across a large area of the UK.
“We have issued a large yellow warning area where there is a possibility of some impacts.
“But gusts of 50-60mph are possible across large parts of central and northern UK areas.
“Wind gusts of 70-80 mph can be seen at times on exposed coasts and high ground, mainly in the far north of Scotland.
“There is a chance that this low pressure will continue to affect Friday.”
The travel warnings come as the biggest traffic hotspots and worst times to travel home for Christmas have been revealed – with Britons set to make 21 million journeys this week.
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Source: HIS Education