Storm Eowyn hits Highlands with travel wipe-out on Inverness airport Loganair flights, Scotrail, Caledonian Sleeper, CalMac and Scottish Citylink services
Storm Eowyn’s first dramatic effects are already being felt in the Highlands this morning in the shape of a wipe-out of transport services.
With extreme red ‘danger-to-life’ and amber weather warnings in place for high winds across much of the UK, Loganair took the decision to cancel all of today’s flights.
That move was accompanied by major bus cancellations and a complete blanket halting of train services. CalMac has also cancelled all west coast ferries today.
The central belt is expected to see gusts of up to 100mph in places, while the Highlands and Moray, subject to a lesser amber warning, could experience speeds of over 80 mph in some areas.
All of Loganair’s services to and from Inverness airport, including departures at 07:10 to Belfast City airport, 10:30 to Sumburgh, 15:30 to Stornoway and 17:55 to Manchester, have been grounded.
The return flights from those airports to Inverness today were also cancelled.
As of 7am, British Airways, KLM and Easyjet flights to Luton, Heathrow, Gatwick, Bristol and Amsterdam were still scheduled to fly.
Scottish Citylink buses also took steps to protect staff, drivers and passengers by cancelling all Scottish services between 10 am and 5pm today.
ScotRail, LNER and the Caledonian Sleeper had already announced yesterday (Thursday) that no trains would run in Scotland today given the high risk of storm damage.
The amber warning affecting the Highlands suggests there is “a good chance” that power cuts may occur, with the potential to affect other services such as mobile phone coverage.
Some damage to buildings, such as tiles blown from roofs, is expected along with flying debris and a risk of injuries or danger to life.
Some roads and bridges, including the Kessock Bridge, could close and Traffic Scotland is warning against any travel in red warning areas and against unnecessary travel in amber areas.
