Airlines and airports are braced for a turbulent day tomorrow as storm Eunice bears down on the UK and threatens to disrupt air travel.

The south of England – and the south west in particular – is due to face the worst of the storm with winds of up to 80mph likely.

It is expected to be the fiercest weather front to hit the UK in three decades.

Newquay Airport said Eastern Airways has cancelled tomorrow’s Gatwick service, while passengers booked on other services have been told they can change their plans without charge.

Gatwick and Heathrow both issued statements to passengers ahead of Eunice, which is due to land around 5am.

A Heathrow spokesperson said: “Storm Eunice is forecast to cause poor weather conditions across the UK tomorrow. We want to reassure passengers that our colleagues are working in close collaboration with our airline and air traffic control partners to get them safely away on their journeys as quickly as possible.”

The airport warned that high winds and poor weather can cause last minute delays but said it would ‘do everything in our power to minimise any disruption’.

“We encourage passengers to check their flight status with their airline for the latest information.”

A spokesperson for Gatwick Airport said: “As with any severe weather, our priority is the safety and wellbeing of passengers and staff at the airport.

“As in all circumstances, teams across the airport work closely with each other and with airlines, baggage handlers etc to keep disruption to a minimum.

“Should there be severe weather, we would advise passengers to check the status of their flights with their airlines.”

Meanwhile easyJet said it was closely monitoring the situation and told passengers to allow extra time to travel to the airport.

“We are advising passengers due to fly with us tomorrow to check the status of their flights on our Flight Tracker page for real-time information,” the carrier said. [We have] contacted customers due to fly with us from Luton, Gatwick and Manchester, advising them to allow extra time to travel to the airport due to the impact of the weather on local public transport services.

“The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is always easyJet’s highest priority.”

On its website, Eastern Airways said it plans to operate its schedule but told passengers they can rebook on a later service up to seven days from their original date without incurring any penalties.