Heathrow airport delays: Snow misery for passengers as freezing weather sparks delays

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Bonnie Christian1 February 2019

British Airways passengers at Heathrow Airport are facing delays after snow fell in the capital.

As Britain faced its coldest night in seven years, with temperatures plummeting to -15C, those hoping to travel out of the UK were met with a string of flight cancellations at the country’s busiest airport.

BA made the decision to cancel flights to and from Heathrow on Thursday evening as the snowstorm began to wreak havoc.

More than 90 BA flights from Heathrow were cancelled due to the snow.

On Friday morning, passengers arrived to find the cancellations and delays had continued into the next day.

A destination board noted many cancellations until at least 8.10am with suggestions passengers “go to guest services.”

In a statement, a spokesman for the airline said safety was their "top priority" and they were "working hard to keep things moving."

Snow at Heathrow Airport caused long travel delays for passengers
Alex Lentati

"We recognise the uncertainty that the bad weather may be causing customers, and have offered those due to travel on short-haul flights to/from Heathrow the opportunity to postpone their journey," he said.

"Due to the adverse weather conditions predicted, we have been forced to cancel and merge a number of short-haul flights today to ensure that we protect the rest of our schedule. ​

"Our flights to and from Gatwick and London City Airports are planned to operate as normal."

Heathrow Airport was telling passengers via social media that it did not expect significant disruption.

In a statement, a spokeswoman said: “To ensure our passengers and colleagues are travelling safely this winter, Heathrow is continuing to closely monitor and prepare for cold weather conditions forecast for the UK. Those travelling via Heathrow are encouraged to contact their airline for up to date flight information.”

Video from the airport tweeted by grounded passengers shows heavy snowfall at the airport.

The snowfall has already exceeded the maximum 10cm that was predicted by forecasters.

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