Fog Closes Burbank Airport 1 1/2 Hours : Weather: Facility is shut for the first time in two years as travel plans are disrupted in the morning for hundreds of passengers.

A fog bank closed Burbank Airport for 1 1/2 hours Friday morning, disrupting or delaying travel for hundreds of passengers, some of whom were rerouted to airports as far away as San Diego and Fresno.

Forecasters said the unseasonal fog, which lifted at midmorning, would not return as Santa Ana winds should bring sunny and warm weather through the weekend.

It was the first time in two years the busy airport was closed.

“It was like all the fog in the world had landed at our airport,” said spokeswoman Angela Crannon. “Even when planes were departing, you could only see them for a moment, and then they would disappear again. It was that thick.”

No incoming or outgoing flights were allowed when the airfield opened shortly before 7 a.m. Friday. Takeoffs began at about 8:30 a.m., but landings--which require a visibility of at least one mile--were not permitted until about 9:40 a.m., when normal operations resumed.

The fog bank was caused when a warm inversion layer pushed a layer of cold morning air down and prevented it from dissipating normally.

Commercial air carriers were forced to divert eight incoming flights to other airports. Nine outgoing flights were either canceled or delayed.

The problems occurred during the busy morning commute period, when Southwest Airlines, United Airlines and other carriers offer numerous flights to and from the San Francisco Bay area and other destinations.

Temperatures in the San Fernando Valley reached the mid-80s on Friday and were expected to reach the mid- to upper-90s today and Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.