More travel chaos hits UK as new snow freezes over
The UK's Christmas travel nightmare was grinding on today with more snow and ice causing havoc on the roads and further disruption for rail and air services.
Plunging overnight temperatures have transformed many of yesterday’s snowfalls into treacherous surfaces, with the British Met Office warning of “widespread icy roads” for most of England and Wales as well as more snowfalls for the southern half of the country.
Travellers also face another raft of train and flight cancellations and delays, although several airports have reopened their runways and Channel Tunnel high-speed Eurostar trains are resuming a restricted service after three days of suspension caused by “fluffy snow”.
Yesterday’s heavy snowfalls left London and the south east worst hit for vehicle breakdowns.
The AA reported one of its busiest days on record, dealing with more than 20,000 breakdowns by the end of the night – more than twice the normal level.
Temperatures were predicted to fall to zero in central London overnight, minus 4C in Newcastle, minus 4C in Glasgow, the same in Manchester and minus 2C in Cardiff. In parts of northern England they could reach as low as minus 9C, and minus 13C in the highlands of Scotland.
Budget airline easyJet said the hangover from yesterday’s bad weather would see scores of flights cancelled from Luton, Gatwick, Stansted, Glasgow and Edinburgh airports this morning.
British Airways cancelled all UK and European flights departing after 7pm yesterday, and was “strongly” advising passengers to check their flight status before setting off today.
Staff at Gatwick are working to clear a backlog after reopening the runway last night, while Aberdeen, Luton and Southampton were also working to resume flight operations but warning travellers of continued delays.
Manchester airport – where passengers had to endure long waits just to reach the check-in desk – gave out food, water and blankets overnight to people stranded by delays.
“Staff are working incredibly hard to clear the ice and snow from our 750 hectare site,” a spokesman said, warning of further havoc.
On the trains, Eurostar is resuming a restricted service from 7.30am, when customers with tickets for December 19 and 20 allowed to travel.
Chief executive Richard Brown said he was “very, very sorry” about the train breakdowns which left thousands trapped in trains in the Channel Tunnel at the weekend, with the operator blaming the amount of “lighter, fluffier” type of snow for the travel turmoil.
Rail passengers in Surrey, Hampshire, Kent, Wales and Lancashire were also braced for further disruption, after being forced to use replacement bus services yesterday because of the weather.
Elsewhere, more than 180 schools and nurseries were also closed in south Wales because of poor weather conditions.
The icy conditions look set to stay, although there will be less snow in the next few days.
Paul Mott, from Meteogroup, said counties to the north and west of London will be worst hit by snow overnight, while northern England will see temperatures as low as minus 9C in rural areas, and minus 13 in the Scottish highlands.
There would be less snow today, he said, but plummeting temperatures meant the continuing risk of ice.
He said: “There is certainly a lot of grit on the roads at the moment but one of the problems is that there is a risk of ice on untreated roads. It will be feeling cold over the next few days but it will be drier than it has been.”
