Bad weather, including heavy fog, has badly affected operations at airports in the west today and has resulted in the cancellation of flights at Knock for a second day.
A number of flights due to depart from Ireland West Airport in Knock were grounded and some incoming flights had to divert to Dublin, a spokeswoman confirmed.
Knock airport spokeswoman
A scheduled Aer Arann flight to Dublin this morning did not operate as the aircraft did not make the journey from Dublin last night.
A Ryanair flight from Luton was diverted to Dublin and some BMI Baby flights for Birmingham and Manchester were also affected. Outbound passengers were bused to Belfast, the airport spokeswoman said.
A later Ryanair flight from Stansted with around 106 passengers on board could not land at Knock due to weather conditions and was also diverted to Dublin.
"It's clearing a bit, but it seems to lift and then come back down again," the spokeswoman said of the fog. She said passengers were "generally" understanding, but admitted the airport's phone lines were very busy.
"It's not just our own airport and there's obviously understanding there, but like everything else, people get frustrated. People expect aviation to be 100 per cent, but they don't expect the same of ferries or buses."
The spokeswoman said around 3,000 air passengers had been discommoded due to weather conditions in recent days.
There were some cancellations on Britain-bound flights from Dublin, Cork and Shannon, in particular to to Heathrow airport, as there was also heavy fog at the busy London airport. Three Aer Lingus flights and one British Midland flight from Dublin were cancelled.
While there were some delays at Dublin airport this morning, business returned to normal in the afternoon as weather conditions improved and the fog lifted.
Some domestic flights, including Aer Arann flights, and some flights to and from Britain and Europe were cancelled.
A spokeswoman for Dublin airport said Aer Arann flights had been affected this morning, partly due to the type of aircraft the airline operates. There were some de-icing issues with aircraft, the spokeswoman said. However, there were currently no major delays and no fog at the airport.
A number of flights were taking off and landing in clear weather at 9.30am, although heavy mist and fog still hung over Ashbourne and the N2 just a few miles from the airport's main runway.
Passengers are advised to contact their airline for further information on flight delays at any Irish airport.
The N24 between Tipperary and Banshas was badly affected by both fog and black ice earlier today and there were a number of minor crashes. Roadworks have been suspended on the N7 south of Nenagh until the new year due to the bad weather, AA Roadwatch said.
In other travel news, the opening ceremony for the Dublin Port Tunnel took place this morning and HGVs were allowed to use the new road from this afternoon. Cars may not use the tunnel until February.
Motorists have been urged to take extra care around the entrances and exits while all drivers become used to the traffic layout and the merging traffic from the tunnel.
Met Éireann says dense fog will linger through the day in many places, but will tend to clear in the west of the country towards evening. It will be a cold, damp day with temperatures reaching 4 to 7 degrees at best.