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BLAST CHRISTMAS
UK weather: Storm Pia sparks Christmas getaway chaos with flights grounded, trains cancelled & drivers crushed by trees
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STORM Pia today sparked Christmas getaway chaos as 80mph winds battered Britain and halted festive travel plans.
Strong winds are expected to blast most of the country until 9pm as felled trees block roads, dozens of flights are grounded and trains are cancelled.
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The Eurostar was suddenly halted earlier today by a workers' strike, trapping those trying to get home for their winter holiday.
Their festive plans were plunged into chaos after militant union chiefs held bosses to ransom over a festive bonus.
All services were suspended to and from London at noon after demands for a £2,600 (€3,000) one-off payment were rejected.
Eurotunnel has since confirmed the strike is over and there will be a progressive return to services.
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Eurotunnel said in a statement: "Eurotunnel management and trade union representatives have reached an agreement at the end of a day marked by strike action which led to the closure of the terminals and the interruption of services since midday.
"This agreement means that LeShuttle services will resume progressively this evening and Eurostar tomorrow morning.
"Eurotunnel welcomes this agreement and reiterates its apologies to all LeShuttle customers as well as Eurostar passengers and rail freight operators whose traffic has been impacted by this strike."
Scotland, Northern Ireland, north Wales, northern England, the Midlands and East Anglia are all covered by the wind warning.
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Road, train, air and ferry journeys were expected to take longer, with brief power cuts also expected.
British Airways were forced to ground two dozen domestic and European flights to and from London Heathrow, including multiple links to and from Amsterdam.
Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow were also among the routes experiencing cancellations.
A British Airways spokesperson said: “Due to the high winds forecast as part of Storm Pia, we have made some adjustments to our schedule with as much notice as possible for our customers.
“We have apologised for the disruption to their travel plans and our teams are working hard to get their journeys back on track as quickly as possible.”
All trains to and from London Euston were cancelled after overhead electric wires toppled onto the lines at Watford Junction.
The concourse at Euston was packed with passengers who had hoped to get a train home for Christmas from the station.
Snaps taken this morning show delayed passengers queuing up at Manchester Airport's Terminal 1.
Pilots battled to land a diverted plane at Birmingham Airport in 50mph crosswinds.
The Aer Lingus ATR 72-600 propeller plane was diverted from Leeds Bradford, with the pilots aborting their first attempt at a landing in Birmingham.
During the second attempt at landing, the cabin rocked violently as it was buffeted by winds.
A Finnair flight from Helsinki to Manchester also aborted its landing moments before its wheels touched the tarmac.
TransPennine Express issued a "Do Not Travel" warning until 3pm for customers planning to head to and from Edinburgh.
ScotRail had also cancelled trains along seven routes including Inverness to Aberdeen.
Kings Cross St Pancras was flooded with distraught travellers left stranded by the Eurostar walkout earlier.
Several trains were already heading towards the Channel Tunnel when they were forced to return to their starting point.
Dozens more were axed at the last-minute.
Passengers were urged to make alternative arrangements and apply for refunds, but the Eurostar app crashed amid the surge.
Furious Frank Knight fumed: "This is properly scandalous.
"Shame on these people making a misery of Christmas for so many people here in the UK wanting to go back to France for Xmas.
"Disgusting.... if that's the way you use your right to strike, you should just all lose your jobs."
Another devastated passenger said: "You’ve just ruined my Christmas.
"It should have been my first Christmas with my girlfriend, you have ruined everything!"
One raged: "French unions just reserved a special place in hell.
"First they strike in the air, now the take us all hostage on train/car via the tunnel. Ferry is also not an option with the storm. This is plain criminal."
Andy Derbyshire stormed: "How can this happen so suddenly? I am stuck in Paris now with no support and no staff to talk to.
"What was the contingency plan?"
Gutted Andrew Hinton, 67, of north Wales, was heading 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 totally frustrated, having organised this several weeks ago.
"We've lost a day of our Christmas break with the family."
Student Jennifer McCann, 23, of Egham, Surrey, was hoping to surprise her family in Frankfurt by travelling home for Christmas.
But she said: "I don't know what I'm going to do now. I'll have to try and find an alternative route.
"It was all meant to be a surprise. They have no idea I’m coming back."
The M20 coastbound carriageway between Junctions 8 and 9 was also temporarily closed due to suspended Eurotunnel services, Kent Police said.
The "emergency measure" will allow freights bound for the continent to queue on the empty section of motorway to minimise disruption.
Last night, a Eurostar spokesman said: "Due to a last-minute strike by Eurotunnel staff, no Channel Tunnel crossings have taken place since 21 December, midday. Unfortunately, this means 30 Eurostar trains have been cancelled out of London, Paris or Brussels until the end of the day.
"For passengers due to travel tomorrow, Eurostar will update them directly with any changes to services from 1900UK/2000CET.
"Customers who have been affected today have received direct communication about their journey and had the option to exchange their tickets free of charge or claim a refund.
"Eurostar is closely monitoring the situation as it evolves and is being kept informed of developments by Eurotunnel.
"Although the situation is out of Eurostar’s control, all our teams are working to minimise the impact on our customers and provide as much support as possible. Extra staff are also in the stations to assist travellers."
"Unfortunately, Eurostar has had to cancel all trains to and from London until further notice.
"Customers affected will receive direct communication about their journey and can exchange their tickets free of charge or claim a refund.
"We are closely monitoring the situation as it evolves and, our teams are currently working to minimise the impact on our customers."
Le Shuttle said: ";Due to industrial action our service is suspended.
"Customers are advised that, as a consequence of this incident, access to our site is currently unavailable.
"If you are due to travel today please make alternative arrangements or modify your booking."
Getlink, which owns the Channel Tunnel and operates Eurotunnel Le Shuttle services, said unions had rejected a £867 (€1,000).
Instead, they wanted three times as much.
A Getlink spokesman said: "Strike action by representatives of Eurotunnel's French site staff unions has resulted in the complete interruption of service and the closure of our terminals in France and the UK."
Meanwhile, those living in coastal parts of the UK have been warned to watch out for spray and large waves on the sea front.
The sprawling wind system has been named Storm Pia by the Danish Met Office.
Forecasters said that there could be winds of up to 70mph in the north of the warning area.
The gusts might briefly reach 80mph across the far north of Scotland and the Northern Isles.
All schools in the Shetland Islands have been shut as locals bunker down against the storm.
Locals reeled as the wind blew smashed glass into the entrance of an M&S in Bolton, Greater Manchester.
While Christmas markets in Liverpool and Hereford shut following the yellow warning.
Met Office expert Paul Gundersen said: "Strong winds are likely to develop across a large area of the UK.
";We’ve issued a large yellow warning area where there’s a potential for some impacts.
"But gusts of 50-60mph are possible for large parts of central and northern areas of the UK.
"Exposed coasts and high ground could see gusts of 70-80mph at times, mainly across the far north of Scotland.
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"There’s a chance this low pressure will continue to exert its influence into Friday."
The travel warnings come as the biggest traffic hotspots and worst times to travel home for Christmas have been revealed - with Brits set to make 21million trips this week.
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