The changing Swedish weather is one of the factors that makes each balloon flight a unique experience. However, the weather is also the factor in ballooning that we simply cannot control. This means that the pilot sometimes cancels the planned flight because the wind and weather conditions are not suitable for safe flying. Our pilots are all very experienced, and the pilot decides whether the weather on the day is safe to fly in.
Our pilots’ top priority is always safety. When they cancel a flight, either in advance via SMS/email, or in rare cases at the launch site, they will usually give an explanation as to why. Our pilots make the decision about whether the weather is suitable for flying based on the most relevant and up-to-date weather information available immediately before notifying passengers via SMS and/or email.
From time to time, however, the weather may change from what the forecast predicted. There are different weather forecasts, and they can be interpreted in different ways by different meteorologists. So, just like all those who work professionally with weather, we can also be wrong. Here are some of the general reasons why DreamBalloon may choose to cancel a flight:
The weather was fine and sunny – why was my flight canceled?
- The ground wind or altitude wind may have been too strong and outside the permitted limits.
- There may also have been a risk of gusts exceeding the limit values.
- Rain may have been predicted in the flight area. We are not allowed to fly in the rain, as it means poor visibility and the balloon becomes heavier to fly.
- The balloon envelope can also be damaged if it gets too wet. Thunderstorms, or so-called Cumuli Nimbus, may have been predicted within the area. These are dangerous for the balloon, and we should not fly within 50 km of them.
- If your flight was a morning flight, there may have been poor visibility or fog during the flight period, which disappeared later in the day.
