Fog grounds planes at Heathrow and Gatwick

Domestic and European flights to and from Heathrow were cancelled today because of fog.

Tens of thousands of passengers were affected, with the disruption threatening the holiday getaway.

British Airways cancelled 160 short-haul departures. Long-haul flights were "expected" to continue but subject to "severe delays".

Other airlines also axed services amid warnings of severe disruption to departures for those which did manage to fly.

BA said flights affected included those to Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Newcastle.

A spokesman added: "Flights between Heathrow and mainland Europe are also severely disrupted by the fog."

Gatwick was also affected with huge queues and dozens of flights cancelled.

There will be further cancellations and delays at both airports tomorrow as the fog is forecast to continue.

Tomorrow, Friday and Saturday were set to be the busiest days, with the peak on Friday when 194,000 are expected to pass through the airport - 30,000 more than normal.

As the weather worsened, poor visibility forced Air Traffic Control at Heathrow to halve the number of flights in and out of the airport. BA was unable to say when a normal schedule would resume and appealed to passengers not to travel to Heathrow without checking beforehand . bmi cancelled 22 long and short haul f lights from Heathrow. Virgin Atlantic said all their flights were operating but with "lengthy delays."

The chaos came as Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander held talks with airport chiefs in a bid to make sure queues and delays caused by security measures at Heathrow did not blight the holiday. The Association of British Travel Agents said a record three million people planned to go abroad over the holiday. Motorists too faced "awful conditions" due to thick fog, said travel data firm Trafficlink.

Worst-hit was the A40 heading into London, where morning rush hour traffic was disrupted after a lorry jacknifed near Stansted airport. "By early afternoon motorists were still taking two and a half hours to get past the blockages on the A40," said a Trafficlink spokesman. Fog affected western and eastern sections of the M25, particularly in Berkshire and Essex. The prospects for travellers in the UK also looked bleak as they face major roadworks and drastically reduced public transport. There is a total shutdown of the rail network on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, with services not resuming until after 6am on 27 December. On Christmas Eve the last trains leave

London between 8pm and 10pm, but passengers hoping to use these services will be forced to pay more than three times the cheapest fare. In London, a limited bus and Tube service will operate on Boxing Day.

High price of the last train home

LONDON TO NEWCASTLE
Last train on Christmas Eve: leaves 4pm, arrives 9.27pm
First train back on 27 Dec: leaves 7am, arrives 10.10am
Cheapest ticket: Saver return, £91.40
Normal cheapest return: £41

LONDON TO EDINBURGH
Last train on Christmas Eve: leaves 3.27pm, arrives 9.59pm
First train back on 27 Dec: leaves 7.30am, arrives 12.17pm
Cheapest ticket: £94.10 or standard open return at £222
Normal cheapest return: £61

LONDON TO MANCHESTER
Last train on Christmas Eve: leaves 5.36pm, arrives 9.28pm
First train back on 27 Dec: leaves 7.28am, arrives 10.59am
Cheapest ticket: £57:10
Normal cheapest return: £18

LONDON TO BIRMINGHAM
Last train on Christmas Eve: leaves 8.09pm, arrives 1.05am
First train back on 27 Dec: leaves 6.52am, arrives 9.05am
Cheapest tickets: £36.20
Normal cheapest return: £10

LONDON TO EXETER
Last train on Christmas Eve: leaves 5.15pm, arrives 8.49pm
First train on Dec 27: leaves 6.41am, arrives 9.22am
Cheapest ticket: Standard open return, £153
Normal cheapest return: £48

Major roadworks in the South-East

M1 Jct 6a-10: near Luton
M3 Jct 4: eastbound all lanes near Camberley
M4 Jct 4: M4 spur near Heathrow
M11 Jct 7-8: near Stansted
M25 Jct 2: near Dartford
M25 Jct 7-8: night closures
M25 Jct 25: Holmesdale Tunnel. Lane closure on eastbound entry slip and westbound exit slip
M40 Jct 4/A404: slip roads and gyratory near High Wycombe
A2: Darenth
A21: Medway viaduct
A2070 Jct 10: near Ashford