LONDON, England: More than 200,000 people in the UK watched planes, live on Big Jet TV, battle to land at Heathrow Airport during Storm Eunice, which generated winds of up to 122 mph last week.
The storm, one of the most severe in more than 30 years, caused widespread disruptions across the UK, with dozens of flights canceled, and sparked two rare red weather warnings and orders for the British to remain at home.
The Met Office also issued a “danger to life” warning, with “flying debris” expected.
Across airports in the UK, dozens of pilots were forced to abort landings due to the treacherous conditions and head back into the sky and make another attempt to land safely.
Viewers have been praising pilots for safely landing their jets in dangerous winds.
Jerry Dyer, from popular aviation channel Big Jet TV, told BBC Radio 2, “This is the best scenario you could possibly imagine, big kudos to the pilots and the crews working at the airports.”
According to aviation data provider FlightStats by Cirium, at Heathrow Airport at least 65 flights, both departures and arrivals, were canceled and a further 114 were delayed by more than 15 minutes.
“The arrival flow rate at London Heathrow is being reduced due to gale force winds. If you want to change your flight, send us a DM with more information and we will be happy to take a look at this for you,” British Airways said on Twitter during the storm.
EasyJet was also forced to cancel several flights from Gatwick and Bristol Airport.
