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Stranded passengers' hopes raised BAA boss refuses bonus over snow
(40 minutes later)
Thousands of rail and air passengers stranded because of snow may finally be on the move as travel operators begin tackling lengthy backlogs. Heathrow airport's boss is to forego a bonus, as snow-hit air and rail firms begin clearing their passenger backlog.
Heathrow Airport plans to run two-thirds of flights and Eurostar is operating almost normally. East Coast rail services are again disrupted. Colin Matthews said his focus was on getting people moving and rebuilding confidence in the airport, where two-thirds of flights are operating.
And several airports across the UK are still warning of disruption, including Edinburgh, East Midlands and Gatwick. Eurostar is operating almost normally but delays and cancellations have again hit East Coast rail services. Most UK airports also warn of some disruption.
Warnings of heavy snow remain in place for the Midlands and eastern England. Heavy snow is expected in Yorkshire, the Midlands and eastern England.
Heathrow reopened its second runway on Tuesday evening, but warned travellers not to expect services to return to normal straight away. Heathrow reopened its second runway on Tuesday evening, but warned travellers not to expect services to return to normal straight away and only to travel to the airport if their departure was confirmed.
Schools shut
A BAA spokesman said "100% of the airport was available" but it was not running at full capacity just yet. Heathrow told passengers to travel to the airport only if their departure was confirmed.
The company's chief executive Colin Matthews has said he will not take his bonus for 2010, after criticism for the length of time it took to clear runways.
In other developments:In other developments:
  • Delays and cancellations are reported on train services run by Northern Rail, First Great Western, First Capital Connect, National Express East Anglia, The Docklands Light Railway and Virgin Trains on the West Coast main line, and Arriva Trains Wales. National Rail Enquiries has more information
  • In Wales, 102 schools yet to break up for Christmas are closed
  • Yorkshire Water has taken almost 7,000 calls from people reporting frozen pipes - nearly double the normal level
  • Temperatures plummeted to -20.1C in parts of northern Scotland overnight
  • Signalling problems between Darlington and York mean there could be delays and cancellations on East Coast rail services, with journey times increased by up to 90-minutes
    •
After being criticised for the length of time it took to clear tonnes of snow at Heathrow after a blizzard on Saturday dumped 5in (13cm) in one hour, BAA's chief executive Mr Matthews said: "I have decided to give up my bonus for the current year."
Prime Minister David Cameron had said weather disruption was understandable but he was "frustrated" at how long it took to improve the situation, while former Labour Transport Secretary Lord Adonis said BAA appeared to have made "totally inadequate preparations".
Mick Rix, the GMB union's national officer for the aviation industry who had called for Mr Matthews to give up his bonus, said: "For once, a British senior director has done the right thing."
Airport operator BAA would not say what Mr Matthews's 2010 bonus would have amounted to. Last year, he received £994,000 in pay and bonuses, excluding shares.
The Independent's travel editor Simon Calder said the situation at Heathrow would get worse on Wednesday.The Independent's travel editor Simon Calder said the situation at Heathrow would get worse on Wednesday.
He told BBC Breakfast: "Everybody thinks 'Oh well they've got both runways open, things will improve'. I'm afraid the backlog today is only going to increase - by another 60,000 people."He told BBC Breakfast: "Everybody thinks 'Oh well they've got both runways open, things will improve'. I'm afraid the backlog today is only going to increase - by another 60,000 people."
Cross-Channel operator Eurostar said it was planning to run 43 out of 52 services from London St Pancras on Wednesday.Cross-Channel operator Eurostar said it was planning to run 43 out of 52 services from London St Pancras on Wednesday.
It advised passengers to turn up only if they have a valid ticket, and only an hour before they travel.It advised passengers to turn up only if they have a valid ticket, and only an hour before they travel.
Some passengers have reported empty seats on Eurostar trains out of London, despite people being left on platforms.Some passengers have reported empty seats on Eurostar trains out of London, despite people being left on platforms.
The BBC's Lucy Wilkins, travelling to Paris for Christmas, said she managed to leave St Pancras on Wednesday morning with just a 20-minute delay.The BBC's Lucy Wilkins, travelling to Paris for Christmas, said she managed to leave St Pancras on Wednesday morning with just a 20-minute delay.
But she said there were chaotic scenes and long queues, with some people waiting in line who had been due to travel two days ago.But she said there were chaotic scenes and long queues, with some people waiting in line who had been due to travel two days ago.
East Coast trains said signalling problems between Darlington and York meant there could be delays and cancellations, with journey times increased by up to 90-minutes. Train operator East Coast had been forced to suspend services between London and Peterborough on Tuesday because of damage to overhead power lines near Huntingdon.
Damage to overhead power lines near Huntingdon on Tuesday had led it to suspend services between London and Peterborough.
Some trains between King's Cross and Leeds are cancelled.Some trains between King's Cross and Leeds are cancelled.
East Coast chairwoman Elaine Holt said there were "a lot of lessons to be learned" from the past few days.East Coast chairwoman Elaine Holt said there were "a lot of lessons to be learned" from the past few days.
She told Breakfast: "Network Rail are going to look very closely at their infrastructure and what they can learn from this... what we could do better regarding customer information."She told Breakfast: "Network Rail are going to look very closely at their infrastructure and what they can learn from this... what we could do better regarding customer information."
Rail watchdog Passenger Focus said the recent bout of cold weather should act as a wake-up call for the industry to provide better information.Rail watchdog Passenger Focus said the recent bout of cold weather should act as a wake-up call for the industry to provide better information.
Chief executive Anthony Smith told the BBC: "What we've seen recently is lots of cases where we've had websites saying different things, we've had phone lines saying different things and we've had staff saying different things as well.Chief executive Anthony Smith told the BBC: "What we've seen recently is lots of cases where we've had websites saying different things, we've had phone lines saying different things and we've had staff saying different things as well.
"That confuses passengers and makes them feel that the system isn't looking after them.""That confuses passengers and makes them feel that the system isn't looking after them."
The Met Office has issued severe weather warnings for the Midlands and eastern England, and forecasters say the cold weather is likely to continue in the coming days. The Met Office has issued severe weather warnings for Yorkshire and the Humber, the Midlands and eastern England, and forecasters say the cold weather is likely to continue in the coming days.
Earlier, heavy snow fell in parts of Wales with up to 10in (25cm) overnight on Anglesey.Earlier, heavy snow fell in parts of Wales with up to 10in (25cm) overnight on Anglesey.
Heathrow had been criticised for the length of time it took to clear tonnes of snow from runways and plane stands after a blizzard on Saturday dumped 5in in one hour.
BAA's chief executive Colin Matthews said: "I have decided to give up my bonus for the current year. My focus is on keeping people moving and rebuilding confidence in Heathrow."
The airport operator would not say what his 2010 bonus would have amounted to. Last year, he received £994,000 in pay and bonuses, excluding shares.
At a news conference on Tuesday, Prime Minister David Cameron said: "Even BAA's harshest critics have conceded that given the amount of snow that has fallen, extensive disruption is understandable.
"But if it's understandable that Heathrow had to close briefly, I'm frustrated on behalf of all those affected that it's taking so long for the situation to improve."
BAA said it would investigate how airports have coped with the snow once services were back to normal.
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  • Land
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Fog

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Frost

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Pressure Fronts

Cold Warm Occluded

Rain

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Snow

Light Heavy

Map Key

  • Land
  • Cloud
  • Lakes, Rivers & Sea

Fog

Light Heavy

Frost

Light Heavy

Pressure Fronts

Cold Warm Occluded

Rain

Light Heavy Extreme

Snow

Light Heavy
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