Snow brings travel chaos to Britain as a third of flights are cancelled at Heathrow

Heavy overnight snow brought severe disruption to road, rail and air travel today with motorists being urged to take extra care in treacherous conditions.

Many motorway drivers were forced to spend the night in their cars as the snow brought traffic to a standstill on the M25, while Heathrow Airport cancelled a third of its flights - nine hours before a flake of snow had even fallen.

A plane waits at Heathrow yesterday

A plane waits at Heathrow yesterday. Airport bosses have cancelled a third of today's flights at Heathrow because of severe weather - nine hours before a flake of snow had even fallen

Spanish-owned operator BAA announced yesterday morning that 30 per cent of today’s flights at Heathrow -  about 200 - would not take off to ‘minimise disruption to passengers’, amid forecasts of six inches of snow and possible freezing fog.

It means that the flights of up to 18,000 travellers could be cancelled or rescheduled as airlines scramble to adjust their flight plans.


A Heathrow spokesman said: 'We have about 850 of our usual 1,231 flights scheduled for today. That's been agreed with the airlines, but we are asking people to check with their airlines before travelling to the airport.'

The BAA move evoked memories of Christmas 2010, when Heathrow shut for five days, ruining the holidays of tens of thousands of people because there were insufficient snow clearance vehicles to keep runways open.

Since then, BAA has increased its Heathrow snowplough fleet by 68 to 185 at a cost of £32.4million – part of a £50million investment programme in equipment and staffing levels.

BAA said it expected reduced visibility during today and ‘possible freezing fog from 1800 (6pm)’. If fog did hang over Heathrow later today, it could lead to more flights being grounded and force air traffic controllers to increase the time between each take-off and landing slot for safety reasons.

Snow is cleared by staff at Ely station, Cambridge, after heavy overnight falls

Snow is cleared by staff at Ely station in Cambridge after heavy overnight falls

Heathrow’s chief operating officer, Normand Boivin, said: ‘This decision ensures the greatest number of passengers can fly with the minimum of disruption. It also means those passengers whose flights are cancelled will know in advance, and can make alternative arrangements or rebook in relative comfort.’

At Manchester, officials said although there had been snow flurries, the comparatively milder weather there meant it was confident flights would not be disrupted.

In Scotland, Prestwick and Edinburgh expected to run a normal service today despite predictions of freezing temperatures overnight.

In Ireland, a number of flights were cancelled yesterday and more are expected to be axed today. Aer Lingus has cancelled 22 flights between Ireland and the UK over the past two days.

A full schedule of flights is planned for Gatwick Airport, but passengers were warned of possible disruptions because of the weather.

Stansted, Birmingham and Luton airports were forced to suspend operations for a period last night as snow piled up on the runways, but operations resumed today with some delays.

Visitors to Scarborough beach brave the icy temperatures to make a snowman

Visitors to Scarborough beach brave the icy temperatures to make a snowman

On the roads, motorists faced what the RAC described as a 'dangerous cocktail of driving conditions' and were urged to stay at home where possible. Some minor routes closed altogether.

Thames Valley Police said the snow caused a tailback between junctions nine and four southbound on the M40 from about 9pm until the early hours of today.

Drivers on sections of the M25 in Hertfordshire were trapped in gridlock throughout the night.
One motorist, Tom Jones, was stranded in his car for more than seven hours, telling the BBC: 'We joined the back of a tailback, never realising we would be spending the night on the motorway.'

The Highways Agency said today that the M25 was now flowing well. A spokeswoman said freezing temperatures remained in some areas. She added: 'Our winter fleet is out spreading salt and ploughing lying snow, and we are working around the clock to keep the motorways and other strategic roads in England open.

'Drivers are advised to pay particular care at locations where local conditions such as slopes, bends or overhanging trees could create an increased risk of slippery road conditions.

'It is still necessary to drive with care, even after road surfaces have been treated with salt.'

A snow plough clears snow from the A12 in Ingatestone, Essex

A snow plough clears snow from the A12 in Ingatestone, Essex after the big freeze hits

Kevin Andrews, RAC patrol ambassador, said the wintry weather and sub-zero temperatures had left roads 'extremely treacherous'.

The motoring organisation said it had attended 70 per cent more breakdowns than normal while a spokesman for the AA said it dealt with around 1,500 call-outs per hour yesterday.

Rail services were also affected, with disruption set to continue today. Southern Railway said trains were subject to delay and cancellation, with journey times extended by up to 30 minutes.

Much of the UK remains under an amber warning - the Met Office's second most serious - of icy conditions today.

The alert, which urges people to be prepared, applies to central, south-west and eastern Scotland, to Wales, and to vast swathes of England.

A yellow alert, which warns people to 'be aware', was in place for the Highlands and Northern Ireland.

Much of England is also under a cold weather alert of level 3, which warns of '100 per cent probability' of severe cold weather, icy conditions and heavy snow.

Walkers enjoy the snow in the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew in west London

Walkers enjoy the snow in the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew in west London

Paul Mott, senior forecaster with MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said at 10am today: 'It's stopped snowing now. Through the rest of the day, temperatures are going to recover in western areas, maybe reaching as high as 7C (45F), but in the south east it will stay cold, reaching 1C (34F) at best.

'Snow that is lying, particularly around Lincolnshire, East Anglia and Kent, will stay there throughout the day.

'In London temperatures may reach 2C (36F), and we expect a partial thaw. It will be a largely dry day and this evening there may be fog, after a cold day, with wet surfaces of snow on the ground.

'There are likely to be some fairly dense patches of fog, particularly in the Midlands and Lincolnshire.

'It will be cold again tonight, though not as cold as it has been - temperatures are expected to fall to a degree or two below freezing in the east and south east. We expect the coming week to be mostly dry, and staying cold.'

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