Thousands of passengers awoke on Wednesday in locations far from their intended destinations as Storm Bram continued to batter large swathes of the UK, bringing severe disruption to rail,
sea and air travel.
The Met Office has issued yellow weather warnings for wind and rain across most of Scotland, excluding only the Borders and Dumfries and Galloway.
Ferry services have been among the hardest hit. Caledonian MacBrayne confirmed that all routes serving the Western Isles are affected, with several cancelled outright. Sailings between Oban and the islands of Barra, Islay and South Uist will remain in port for the day. Key departures between Stornoway and Ullapool—including the 7am and 2pm crossings—have been scrapped, while the 5.30pm service remains in doubt.
NorthLink Ferries reported significant disruption on its Scrabster–Stromness route, with morning sailings rescheduled and afternoon crossings cancelled as winds peak. The overnight service from Aberdeen to Lerwick is expected to arrive around two hours late.
Rail services are also under strain. ScotRail trains on the West Highland Line—which links Mallaig, Oban and Fort William with Glasgow—are operating with severe disruption after widespread early-morning cancellations. Ticket validity has been extended, allowing Tuesday and Wednesday tickets to be used until Thursday, 11 December.
In southwest England, flooding is causing major delays on the Great Western Railway. Services between St Erth and Penzance are suspended, with hopes of reopening later on Wednesday. Flooding has also blocked the branch line between Par and Newquay. Lines in central and north Wales face similar issues, including the closure of Blaenau Ffestiniog station.
Air travel remains heavily affected. The first three British Airways flights from Edinburgh to London City were cancelled on Wednesday, following knock-on disruption from Tuesday. Aer Lingus and British Airways were forced to cancel dozens of flights the previous day, with some aircraft diverting mid-route or returning to their departure airports due to high winds.
Belfast City Airport endured the worst of Tuesday’s aviation chaos, recording 27 cancellations. One British Airways flight from Heathrow spent over two hours in the air, circling and attempting an approach before returning to London.
An Aer Lingus Regional flight from Manchester to Belfast fared slightly better. The ATR72 circled above the Irish Sea for half an hour, aborted one approach, then held for another hour before landing safely—two and a half hours after departure on a route that usually takes 45 minutes.
Glasgow Airport also saw widespread disruption, with numerous diversions throughout the afternoon and evening. Flights from Krakow, Alicante and Lanzarote were rerouted to Manchester, while services from Luton and Heathrow bound for Glasgow diverted to Newcastle. A British Airways flight from London City turned back entirely.
Irish Sea ferry services were similarly affected. P&O Ferries, Irish Ferries and Stena Line cancelled most daytime crossings between Ireland, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland as conditions worsened.
Storm Bram’s weather warnings remain in force as travellers brace for further delays. Photo by Storm at Ashton by Thomas Nugent, Wikimedia commons.