Storm Ciara: British Airways flight breaks New York to London record in high winds

A British Airways plane has broken the record for the fastest passenger flight from New York to London because of winds from Storm Ciara.

Dozens of domestic and international flights have been cancelled over the weekend after the storm brought with it gusts of up to 80mph.

But prior to the Storm Ciara’s arrival in the UK on Saturday a British Airways jet flew from New York’s JFK airport to London Heathrow in a time of four hours and 56 minutes on Saturday evening –according to Flight Radar.

“Fastest across the Atlantic tonight from New York to London so far is #BA112 at 4hr56m. #VS4 in 4:57, and #VS46 in 4:59,” the plane tracking website tweeted.

“If we're not mistaken, BA now retakes the fastest subsonic NY-London crossing from Norwegian.”

Though impressive, the flight time was nowhere near rivalling transatlantic crossings made by Concorde when the supersonic aircraft was in service.

The fastest Concorde flight from New York to London happened on February 7, 1996, when it crossed the pond in just shy of 2 hours 53 minutes, according to British Airways.

It comes as weather warnings have been issued across the country for Sunday amid forecasts of very strong gusts from Storm Ciara and the risk of flooding.

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Heathrow Airport said it had agreed with its airline partners to “consolidate” Sunday’s flight schedule in a bid to minimise the number of cancelled flights.

British Airways said in a statement: “Like all airlines operating into and out of the UK tomorrow, we are expecting to be impacted by the adverse weather conditions across parts of the UK on Sunday.”

The airline said it was offering rebooking options for customers on domestic and European flights flying to and from Heathrow, Gatwick and London City on Sunday.

Virgin Atlantic has posted a list of cancelled flights on its website. It said it was “contacting affected customers and rearranging their travel arrangements”.

Forecasters have warned flying debris could lead to injuries or endanger lives.

Officials also warned of possible damage to buildings and the chance of power cuts.

The Met Office has an amber warning for wind in place for much of England and Wales from 8am until 9pm, while an amber warning for rain applies to parts of Scotland.

Yellow weather warnings cover the whole UK with the heaviest rain expected over high ground, where 50-70mm is expected widely with as much as 100mm in a few locations.

The Environment Agency has issued 22 flood warnings, meaning flooding is expected and immediate action is required, and 149 alerts, indicating flooding is possible.