Continued heavy snowfalls, ice and freezing conditions are continuing to disrupt pre-Christmas travel in Europe.London Heathrow airport, Europe's busiest, has cancelled all short-haul flights and is down to one runway.Air New Zealand's Flight 1 to Los Ang
Continued heavy snowfalls, ice and freezing conditions are continuing to disrupt pre-Christmas travel in Europe.
London Heathrow airport, Europe’s busiest, has cancelled all short-haul flights and is down to one runway.
Air New Zealand’s Flight 1 to Los Angeles was among those to get away this morning, leaving just before 5am and taking passengers who had been stranded since the bad weather closed the airport at the weekend.
A second flight, 38, to Hong Kong is expected to leave at 6am tomorrow (NZ time).
Snow on runways and icebound planes have also grounded flights at airports across northern Europe. Passengers have been sleeping in key international terminals from London and Paris to Amsterdam and Frankfurt.
Terminals managers have warned travellers to stay home unless they have confirmed bookings and flights.
Heathrow operator BAA says no more than a third of its flights will operate until 6am on Wednesday (local time).
“Passengers should anticipate further delays and cancellations in the following days and potentially beyond Christmas Day,” BAA says.
Heathrow handles more than 200,000 passengers a day and the number whose travel plans have been wrecked could soon top 250,000 by the middle of the week, as the bad weather is expected to continue.
Meanwhile, other avenues to leave and arrive in Britain are also affected.
Eurostar railservices have been delayed by speed restrictions in England and France. The company has said it is not selling any more tickets up to and including Christmas Eve.
Even so, large queues have formed at St Pancras station.
