This is the moment a wobbly plane aborted its landing on a Heathrow runway at the last minute as Storm Benjamin battered Britain.
Dramatic footage shows the plane travelling from New York, unable to perform its landing at the London airport due to the strong gusts.
The United Airlines Boeing aircraft attempts to touch down, but despite being only metres away from the asphalt, strong winds make the manoeuvre impossible.
The aircraft was seconds from landing, but with wind gusts reaching up to 75mph across the UK, the pilot aborted.
On a second attempt, the aircraft made a successful landing at around 9.30am today.
British tourists are facing Storm Benjamin chaos in Europe as 100mph winds continue to lash at French coasts, weather warnings spread across Spain and Portugal, and a British Airways flight was forced to abort its landing in Switzerland.
It comes after the storm, named by the French weather service Météo France, moved through the English Channel earlier on Thursday morning, clearing away to the east.
But while rain and wind warnings have been reduced for the UK, severe weather is expected to batter western Europe this weekend, including France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
Dramatic footage taken shows the plane from New York unable to perform its landing due to the strong gusts at the London airport
The United Airlines Boeing aircraft attempts to touch down, but despite being only metres away from the asphalt, strong winds make the manoeuvre impossible
The aircraft was seconds from landing, but with wind gusts reaching up to 75mph across the UK, the pilot aborted
Météo France put 19 regional departments on orange alert today, the second-highest weather warning, with flooding expected in Cantal, Corrèze, Seine-Maritime, Gironde, Landes and Pyrénées-Atlantiques.
Much of southeast Spain has been placed under weather warnings, impacting popular holiday resorts in Barcelona, Tarragona, Cambrils, Valencia, San Sebastian and Santander on the mainland, as well as the Balearic Islands: Ibiza, Palma and Menorca.
Spain’s national forecaster AEMET has told holidaymakers to exercise ‘great caution’, especially on the coast of Cantabria and the Basque Country, where a red alert has been issued due to the threat of giant waves that may reach up to eight metres, and strong winds up to 46mph.
In Switzerland there are major transport disruptions as ferocious winds continue to topple trees, blocking roads and halting traffic.
A BA flight had to abort its landing at Zurich Airport and touchdown elsewhere as the severe weather continues to make it difficult for pilots to control aircraft.
The Europa League has confirmed two matches scheduled for Thursday in Rotterdam have had their kick-off times brought forward due to winds of 62mph.
Firefighters in Birsfelden in the Basel-Country of Switzerland have been deployed all day in several areas where enormous trees have been toppled by powerful winds, causing congestion on the roads.
There was an oil spill alert on the Rhine, according to Fire Chief Patrick Rüegg, meanwhile dramatic footage shows wild storms lash at Lake Zug in central Switzerland, between Lake Lucerne and Lake Zurich.
An electricity pylon was knocked on to the ground by strong winds near Biere, a municipality in the Swiss canton of Vaud, located in the district of Morges.
A fishing boat arrives at the port in Plobannalec-Lesconil, western France, October 22, 2025, as huge waves and strong winds hit the coast at the passage of the storm Benjamin
A BA flight had to abort its landing at Zurich Airport and touchdown elsewhere as the severe weather continues to make it difficult for pilots to control their aircraft
People walk in the rain during the ‘Benjamin’ storm with the Eiffel Tower in the background in Paris on october 23, 2025
Storm Benjamin has also arrived in Portugal, with heavy rainfall between 50 and 100 mm expected in the central and northern regions.
Minho and Douro Litoral will be feel the impact of heavy precipitation, but less so in the south, according to the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere.
The districts of Bragança, Viseu, Porto, Guarda, Vila Real, Viana do Castelo, and Braga were under a weather warning this morning due to the forecast of southwesterly winds turning to northwesterly, with gusts of up to 59mph in the highlands.
Mallorca was thrashed by strong winds today, with weather warnings covering the Serra de Tramuntana, the south, and eastern parts of the island.
The powerful gusts caused a dome at a school in Porto Cristo, on the eastern coast of Mallorca 14 km from the town of Manacor, to collapse.
Students at the Escola Mitjà de Mar were confined to their classrooms as a precautionary measure as emergency services attended to the scene.
Dutch club Feyenoord’s Europa League home match against Greek side Panathinaikos on Thursday was brought forward to 4.30pm (1430 GMT) from the original 6.45pm kickoff due to severe weather warnings.
Authorities requested the change after forecasters issued a Code Orange alert for strong winds exceeding 62 mph, the Rotterdam-based club said late on Wednesday.
UEFA and Feyenoord agreed the game could only proceed with the earlier start.
Meanwhile, Thursday’s Conference League match between Dutch side AZ Alkmaar and ŠK Slovan Bratislava was brought forward from 21.00 to 18.45 local time.
A man clings to a lifebuoy near the ‘Grande Plage’, in Biarritz, south-western France on October 23, 2025
An electricity pylon is seen on the ground after being knocked down by strong winds during the autumn storm, Benjamin, in Biere, Switzerland, 23 October 2025
An electricity pylon is seen on the ground after being knocked down by strong winds during the autumn storm, Benjamin, which swept through Switzerland, near Biere on October 23, 2025
A fishing boat arrives at the port in Plobannalec-Lesconil, western France, October 22, 2025, as huge waves and strong winds hit the coast at the passage of the storm Benjamin
There was an oil spill alert on the Rhine, according to Fire Chief Patrick Rüegg, meanwhile footage shows wild storms lash at Lake Zug in central Switzerland, between Lake Lucerne and Lake Zurich
A woman is reflected in a puddle as she walks outside the banking district in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany, on October 23, 2025
Waves crash against the “Peine del Viento” (Wind Comb) sculptures by Spanish artist Eduardo Chillida during a weather alert for rough seas in the northern Spanish Basque city of San Sebastian on October 23, 2025
Big waves hit a seaside promenade where Spanish artist Jorge Oteiza’s sculpture ‘Construccion Vacia’ (Empty Construction) is located during a weather alert for rough seas and strong winds in the northern Spanish Basque city of San Sebastian on October 23, 2025
A man and a woman look at waves as storm Benjamin is causing ‘strong gusts’ in Lacanau, south-western France, on October 23, 2025
Waves hit the port of Plobannalec-Lesconil, western France October 22, 2024 as strong winds hit the coast at the passage of the storm Benjamin
Mechanical shovels lay bags full of sand to protect the promenade of the ‘Grande Plage’, in Biarritz, south-western France on October 23, 2025
In France, seventeen departments were on alert for strong winds: Nord, Pas-de-Calais, Somme, Manche, Seine-Maritime, Vendée, Deux-Sèvres, Charente-Maritime and Charente, Gironde, Landes, and Pyrénées-Atlantiques, as well as Alpes-Maritimes, Aude, Pyrénées-Orientales, and the two departments of Corsica.
Public parks in Nantes as well as the Pont de Saint-Nazaire were closed.
The risk of power cuts and travel disruption is continually escalating, as trees overturned by dangerous winds fall on roofs throughout the country.
Civilians have been asked to move vehicles from high-risk areas.
Britain was struck by heavy downpours and strong winds today as the storm brought misery to commuters while sweeping across the country.
The Environment Agency has issued two flood warnings for the North Sea coast at Hornsea and Withernsea in East Yorkshire, along with 48 flood alerts across England.
Meanwhile, more than 1,000 homes in Suffolk were without power in areas around Eye, Stoke Ash and Southolt because of an overhead line issue first reported at 7am.
