Willie Walsh: “we are facing significant disruption at Heathrow for some days to come”
Snow causing further travel woe
Severe disruption caused by the UK’s freezing weather is set to continue into next week, as anger grows over a virtual shutdown at Heathrow airport.
Hundreds of Christmas travellers are facing a second night sleeping at the busy London airport, with more delays and cancellations expected on Monday.
As knock-on delays hit other airports, the Met Office warned of more snow and ice in many parts of the country.
A “bitterly cold” day is forecast on Monday, with freezing fog.
Southern England and South Wales were among those in the “firing line” for Monday, said BBC weather forecaster Helen Willetts, with 5-10cm of snowfall that could coincide with both the morning and evening rush hours.
“We could have some bedlam once again, it looks absolutely atrocious,” she said.
There were warnings of more heavy snow for much of Scotland and north-east England on Sunday evening and through into Monday.
Northern Ireland, East Sussex and Kent were also forecast to have more snow on Sunday evening.
Winter weather has disrupted travel
Thousands stayed at Heathrow overnight on Saturday, and few flights departed on Sunday, when some 210,000 people were due to fly.
Just three flights had arrived by early Sunday evening. Hundreds more people slept at Gatwick on Saturday night, where the situation was improving through Sunday.
Airport operator BAA said further cancellations and delays at Heathrow would be inevitable.
It added that beyond Monday there would be continued problems “as airlines move diverted aircraft and crew back to their normal positions”.
BAA’s Andrew Teacher said staff would work through the night to clear ice from the airfields but they were “fighting against” temperatures expected to drop as low as -9C overnight.
“We are hoping to run a bit more of service tomorrow, but I think we need to be very realistic about the level of disruption over the next few days and the domino effect of the disruption.”
Around the UK
Scotland: Flight freeze hits travel Wales: Ambulance fears N Ireland: Weather stalls travel London: More snow disruption Luton: Airport reopens after snow Oxfordshire: Cars stranded in snow Kent: Gritters clear main roads West Midlands flight delays Jersey: Snow disrupts air travel Guernsey: Snowfall closes airport
On the railways there was some disruption on Sunday, including the suspension of East Coast Train services between London and Peterborough, stranding hundreds of passengers.
No trains were running between Oxford and Hereford, while some Chiltern Railways, South West Trains and First Capital Connect services were affected by the weather.
With France also suffering severe weather, Eurostar said it had cancelled some trains, and speed restrictions were adding two hours to journeys.
The Foreign Office has updated its travel advice for France, warning of disruption to road, rail and air travel in the country.
Elsewhere in Europe there are severe disruptions at airports in Frankfurt, Paris, Florence, and Amsterdam.
The BBC has received hundreds of emails from stranded plane passengers, with many saying they have no idea where they will be spending Christmas.
BAA said there was nothing stopping passengers leaving the airports and that “several thousand” were being put up in hotels.
Analysis
“The closest comparison to Heathrow is Amsterdam (Schiphol) and that’s pretty miserable too. It’s not just us but it has been managed very very badly.
“BAA only at 0500 this morning announced there would be no arrivals in. By close of play today we are going to see something like half a million people flying to or from the UK who are not where they want to be.
“The lucky ones are the people whose holidays have been cancelled. They can just stay at home and watch Sports Personality of the Year or the final of The Apprentice.
“It’s the people who have been stuck, thousands of them, in foreign destinations. If they are with non-European airlines they have to fend for themselves, and of course there are many other people who are stranded in transit at Heathrow who arrived maybe yesterday morning, had no interest in staying here at all and are simply stuck.”
However, when asked if the company was confident of getting everyone to their festive destinations, a spokeswoman said: “We are in the hands of the weather.”
BA chief executive Willie Walsh admitted that the company had not done enough to communicate with passengers already at Heathrow about their flights.
“It’s an area that has been inadequate,” he told the BBC, adding that the decision about re-opening the airport was unclear for a long time and remains uncertain.
However, he said the early suspension of flights on Saturday meant many passengers avoided making a fruitless trip to the airport.
Trevor Taylor, who had been waiting with his wife and two young sons for a flight for Singapore for two days, said Terminal 5 was “absolute mayhem.”
The 37-year-old from Basingstoke, Hampshire, said: “There are kids that haven’t been fed, there are elderly people in wheelchairs getting cold. It’s ‘everyone fend for yourself’.
“Frustration is building up. I’ve been sleeping on a knobbly marble floor and every space you can see is taken,” he said.
Treacherous conditions on the roads and fully-booked hotels meant some had no option but to stick it out at the airport, he said.
Other passengers reported lengthy queues for toilets and plug sockets, where stranded passengers waited to recharge their mobile phones.
Hundreds of staff had been drafted in to hand blankets, food and water to passengers stuck in terminals, said BAA, but many still complained to the BBC they had been left without.
WEATHER AND TRAVEL INFO
Get the latest on travel problems and school closures via your local website Check if snow is forecast in your area at BBC Weather Details of motorway and local road closures and public transport disruption are available at BBC Travel News For advice on handling difficult driving conditions, see the Highways Agency website For information about severe weather warnings, see the Met Office website For information about staying healthy in the cold weather, see the NHS Winter Health website
A Gatwick spokeswoman said it was doing everything it could to “get passengers on their way” but advised them to check with airlines before setting out.
Aberdeen and Edinburgh airports were closed for a time on Sunday, as was Guernsey. The runway at Jersey airport is closed until Monday morning.
Stansted, Luton, Exeter, London City, Birmingham, Bristol and Southampton airports said flights would be subject to delays and cancellations.
Transport Secretary Philip Hammond has asked the government’s chief scientific adviser for advice on whether the government should be planning for more severe weather in future, but shadow transport minister Maria Eagle accused him of complacency.
“We had a winter resilience report which was ordered by the previous government on his desk in July and he could have started by implementing the recommendations,” she said.
Other incidents on Sunday included:
Drivers faced queues of up to eight hours on the A34 in Oxfordshire, due to abandoned cars and jack-knifed lorries.The M25 was closed in both directions for hours between junctions five and six, after a liquid petroleum gas tanker overturned.By 1700 GMT the AA had attended more than 10,000 breakdowns, with calls coming in at 700 per hourDespite problems in some areas, National Rail Enquiries says most routes are operating normally and advises passengers to call 08453 017 641 for detailsSunday’s sporting schedule was again badly affected, after wide postponements of football, rugby union and horse racing fixtures on SaturdayAn urgent appeal is being made for blood donors, particularly those who are O negative, as stocks are running lowCompanies have warned of a backlog of deliveries which may not reach customers before Christmas
The Highways Agency has said it is doing its best to keep major roads in England clear, but that motorists should check traffic and weather conditions before considering whether to go out.
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