Snow brings further chaos for Christmas travellers

Hundreds of Christmas travellers faced a third day stranded at Heathrow airport on Monday as arctic conditions sparked fresh flight delays and cancellations.

Sporting events were hit by the bad weather, with several top flight football matches

* Sporting events were hit by the bad weather, with several top flight football matches
* Hundreds of Christmas travellers faced a third day stranded at Heathrow airport Monday
* Gerry Morris (back) rides a sled with 5-year-old Finn Dennis down a hill Hartley Wintney
* Arctic weather sparks more chaos
* Weather: No End To Blizzard Misery In Sight
* Travel Misery Continues Amid Snow Warning

Have your say: Weather

Heavy snow and thick ice all but closed Heathrow, the busiest international passenger air hub in the world, over the weekend and forced holidaymakers to set up camp at the airport on Saturday night.

But there was little respite for people trying to get away for the festive period at Heathrow and other airports across the country, with operators admitting that the chaos was set to stretch into Christmas week.

British Airways said Heathrow had only one of its two runways operational and "many areas of the airfield remain unusable, including areas around parked aircraft".

The airline said it was operating "a limited schedule of flights" to and from Heathrow on Monday morning and had published a schedule until noon.

"We are awaiting further updates from BAA before publishing the schedule for the remainder of the day," the airline said. "Customers should continue to check their flight status as more snow is forecast this afternoon, which could cause further disruption to airport operations."

"We would urge customers not to travel to the airport unless they have a confirmed booking on one of the flights that is operating.!

Britain's roads and railways were also hit by the harsh winter weather, with some roads made impassable after drivers abandoned their vehicles in heavy snow and passengers being ejected onto freezing platforms from broken-down trains.

There were long queues at St Pancras station in London for Eurostar services to Paris and Brussels on Monday morning. The company said the hold-ups to get checked in were due to people arriving early for their trains. One customer described the scenes as "chaotic".

With forecasters predicting this month could be the coldest December for a century, the country braced for further problems Monday with up to 20 centimetres (eight inches) of snow expected in some places.

At Heathrow, disappointment turned to anger and frustration for Christmas travellers as their wait dragged on. Some said they running out of money, while others reported lengthy queues for toilets and plug sockets for mobile phones.

Trevor Taylor, who had been waiting with his wife and two young sons for a flight for Singapore for two days, described conditions at Terminal 5 as "absolute mayhem".

"Frustration is building up. I've been sleeping on a knobbly marble floor and every space you can see is taken," the 37-year-old said.

Although passengers were advised to leave the airport if their flight had been cancelled, treacherous conditions on the roads and fully booked hotels meant some had no option but to stick it out at the airport, he said.

There were a handful of arrivals and departures from Heathrow on Sunday, and the airport warned that disruption was set to continue.

A statement from Heathrow, which is operated by BAA, said the airport would operate a limited service from 0600 GMT Monday, but warned of knock-on effects from the weekend shutdown.

"We expect further cancellations and delays in the coming days, as airlines move diverted aircraft and crew back to their normal positions," it said.

Other major airports, including London Stansted, London Luton, Birmingham, Glasgow and Bristol also faced delays and cancellations due to the weather.

Source:- http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18/20101220/tuk-snow-brings-further-chaos-for-christ-a7ad41d_1.html