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Severe weather in London | Severe weather in London |
(about 6 hours later) | |
Heathrow Airport operator BAA has said it plans to run a "full schedule", but warned passengers of the knock-on effect of disruptions from Sunday. | |
Forty flights were cancelled on Monday morning due to freezing fog and low visibility. BAA said the decision to cancel was made by the airlines. | |
Passengers criticised BAA for operating some 500 fewer flights after up to 10cm (4in) of snow fell on Saturday night. | |
There are no disruptions on the Tube or on the major roads into London. | |
Only 753 flights operated out of the west London airport on Sunday, 58% of its usual capacity of 1,300 flights. BAA said its "snow plan has worked far better than in previous years". | |
BA diverted several flights to destinations such as Glasgow and Cardiff and 400 other passengers on a transatlantic flight were stranded at Shannon. | |
'Better snow plan' | 'Better snow plan' |
Most of the diverted flights are expected to arrive in London through the day and BAA advised passengers to check with their airlines. | |
There was low visibility at both Heathrow and London City Airport and passengers have been warned of possible problems. | |
Several passengers criticised Heathrow airport's decision to cancel flights. | |
But a BAA spokeswoman said: "We are expecting everything to operate as our normal schedule. There may be some cancellations and reshuffling as a result of yesterday's [Sunday] disruption." | |
"Our snow plan has worked far better than in previous years. | |
"We took the decision with airlines and air traffic control yesterday to reduce the flight schedule in advance." | |
On Sunday, Transport Secretary Justine Greening also defended the BAA's decision saying it was the "right approach". | |
Staff were available at the airport to help travellers re-book their flights and find hotels, but some spent the night at the airport. | |
Firs Alam's flight to Tokyo was grounded and he said he was having a "disgusting time", and was incurring costs due to the cancellation. | |
He said: "I am missing my parents and my family members. | |
"They [airport staff] have offered vouchers but I won't get them." | |
Passenger Kerry Burgess-Boyde, whose flight from Los Angeles was diverted to Barcelona on Sunday, told the BBC: "He (the pilot) came on and said there had been chaos at Heathrow and all the parking spaces in England had been filled up. | |
"So he said we are going to go to Barcelona because it seems to be like a nice place to go to." | |
Margaret Corrie from Glasgow was due to fly back on Sunday afternoon after visiting London for her son's passing out parade. | |
Describing her journey to the airport she said: "It took us three hours to get to the airport from London - it's been a nightmare journey." | |
Grit on roads | |
Ahead of her flight to Manchester on Sunday night, Philippa Britton, from Kendal in Cumbria, who was on her way back from Hong Kong said: "On the flight into London lots of people were astonished that so many flights had been cancelled. | |
"The runways seemed clear and they have cancelled the flights." | |
Meg Turner, from Muswell Hill, said her husband's plane for Singapore was on the Tarmac for five hours on Saturday night, before the flight was cancelled and he returned home. | |
The airport almost ground to a halt for days in December 2010 due to heavy snowfall. The subsequent criticism led it to invest almost £30m to prepare for wintry conditions. | |
Those heading to Gatwick, Luton and Stansted have been advised to check with their airlines before travelling to the airports. | Those heading to Gatwick, Luton and Stansted have been advised to check with their airlines before travelling to the airports. |
On the Tube, there are no weather-related disruptions at present, and major roads into the capital are clear. But people have been asked to take care. | |
Howard Collins, Chief Operating Officer for Transport for London (TfL), said: "My advice to people who are literally walking on the streets and anticipating using public transport, is be careful out there. | |
"There are a lot of grit going down again, probably another few thousand tonnes out there, to keep London's streets moving and on the Tube we are doing all we can." | |
TfL said 2,000 tonnes of grit had been spread to keep traffic running smoothly and buses were running normally. | TfL said 2,000 tonnes of grit had been spread to keep traffic running smoothly and buses were running normally. |
Several Tube lines were disrupted due to the snow and four trains broke down on Saturday night forcing passengers to walk on the tracks. | |
TfL said four trains had to be "detrained" because of difficulties and staff escorted passengers to stations. | |
London Ambulance Service said it had had 12% more calls than usual. | |