Thousands stuck at Heathrow amid snow

Thousands of passengers saw extended stays at Heathrow airport at the weekend.

Travel Insurance News - 21/01/2013

<< FAA grounds Dreamliner | Travel News | BA’s Leeds Bradford flights change to T5 at Heathrow >>

Thousands of passengers saw extended stays at Heathrow airport at the weekend.

Amid a storm that brought between 2cm and 6cm to parts of the capital, more than 250 flights were cancelled at the west London airport at the weekend, leaving many travellers stranded overnight.

Although many airports are able to continue normal operations during the seemingly mild winter conditions, officials said that reduced visibility and overcrowding at Heathrow were the cause of the disruptions as flights require extra spacing in low visibility.

Affected airlines included Aer Lingus, Lufthansa and British Airways. BA’s official statement said that the firm was working hard to ensure all affected travellers were accommodated as quickly as possible issued an apology to those whose flights had been cancelled.

Meanwhile, other airports in the region were able to function as per normal. Gatwick saw only 50 cancellations but said that those had come via a domino effect from Heathrow and other facilities in the region. The weekend also saw Gatwick employ its new snow removal package for the first time, after the airport’s operator invested nearly £8 million to ensure it could avoid the gridlock seen in London amid last year’s wintery conditions.

<< FAA grounds Dreamliner | Travel News | BA’s Leeds Bradford flights change to T5 at Heathrow >>