How many have been hit by Christmas travel chaos?

Recent heavy winter weather could prevent hundreds of thousands of people reaching their Christmas destinations abroad.

Travel Insurance News - 23/12/2010

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The ongoing Arctic temperatures and heavy snow could mean that hundreds of thousands of Brits who planned to spend the Christmas holiday abroad could fail to reach their destinations. Snow, ice and freezing temperatures in both the UK and Europe have been creating travel misery for large numbers of people in the run up to the holidays.

Abta, a travel association that represents tour operators and travel agencies, reckons some four million Brits were intending to holiday abroad over the Christmas and New Year’s period. More than 1.5 million of them were to fly through Heathrow.

However, by Wednesday, some 400,000 travellers had had flights through Heathrow cancelled. Through Heathrow was largely back to normal by Thursday, further problems are expected as the sub-zero conditions continue.

BAA, the Spanish-owned airport operator that runs Heathrow, warned passengers to expect more delays and cancellations over coming days. The delays are expected to continue through Christmas Day.

Abta had expected some 700,000 people to head abroad through Gatwick airport over Christmas. By the weekend, some 400 out of 1,200 flights had been cancelled.

Eurostar rail services have also suffered severe disruptions. Speed restrictions caused by the heavy snow have forced Eurostar to cut about a quarter of services.

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