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Snow causes chaos at Heathrow

Published: 20/12/2010 - Filed under: News »

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This weekend’s heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures have caused chaos at London Heathrow airport, with only one runway currently open, and BA reporting “many areas of the airfield” remaining unusable, “including areas around parked aircraft”.

Airport operator BAA says it is “open and operating a limited schedule of arrivals and departures”, but warns that it expects “further cancellations and delays in the coming days, as airlines move diverted aircraft and crew back to their normal positions and we continue to manage the impacts of the poor weather over the weekend and in the days ahead”.

In a statement released at 1100 GMT today, British Airways says that "We are operating a small number of shorthaul flights this morning but due to the severe restrictions to flights at the Airport all shorthaul flights after 1200 have been cancelled".

BAA advises that “passengers should not come to the airport without a confirmed booking”, and adds that if in any doubt, passengers “must consult their airlines before travelling”.

However this may prove easier said than done for many, as the British Airways website seems unable to cope with the increased traffic. Business Traveller has been regularly checking the website this morning, and on several occasions the homepage did not load. In addition, the “check the status of your flight” link currently goes to a blank page (as at 1040 GMT).

A spokesperson for BA said the carrier was “working to restore full [website] functionality”, and added that “we should have some more information soon regarding the rest of the days schedule”.

A selection of the tweets posted on the BAA Heathrow Twitter feed this morning include:

“A flight arrives or departs every 45 secs on a normal day at LHR, so with one runway open only a limited no. of flights will operate today.” (posted around 0900)

“We can't confirm the status of Tuesday flights yet, but do keep checking here for updates, as well as with your airline” (posted around 1045)

The BBC is reporting that "thousands of people" were forced to spend the Sunday night at Heathrow, and describes the situation as a "virtual shutdown". Are you currently at Heathrow waiting for a flight? Let us know your experiences by posting on our forum here.

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COMMENTS » 

BusinessTraveller - 20/12/2010 10:57

BA statement (received 1045 on Monday December 20):

Severe weather continues to cause significant disruption to our operation.

Currently Heathrow has only one of its two runways operational and many areas of the airfield remain unusable including areas around parked aircraft.

The airport owner, BAA, is continuing to clear large amounts of snow and ice from the airfield but based on current icy conditions and forecast of further bad weather, we expect this process to take some time. The airport is therefore likely to be operating at significantly reduced capacity for several days.

We are adjusting our schedule to fit with the capacity of the airport for both flight departures and arrivals.

We are planning to operate as many longhaul flights as possible today, but there will be some cancellations due to the difficult conditions at the airport.

We are operating a small number of shorthaul flights this morning but due to the severe restrictions to flights at the Airport all shorthaul flights after 1200 have been cancelled.

We would urge customers not to travel to the airport unless they have a confirmed booking on one of the flights that is operating.

Customers who are travelling from Heathrow, whose travel is not essential, are encouraged to cancel their flight, in return for a full refund, or to consider changing their flight to another date over the next 12 months.

At Gatwick and London City, we are aiming to run as many flights as possible, although there is a reduced operation as a result of the weather disruption.

We are extremely sorry that customers are being inconvenienced and understand how frustrating this is. Our staff are working around the clock to do everything they can to help. We ask customers for their patience and understanding.

Customers should check on ba.com for the very latest information about their specific flight.

If their flight has been cancelled they can either chose to rebook on an alternative flight or they can claim a full refund.

StephenLondon - 20/12/2010 11:08

Good statement from British Airways - they are doing their best given the operational constraints placed upon them by the British Airports Authority (BAA).

Shame the BAA couldn't be more pro-active in resuming more normal operations. Restricting operations because they anticipate further bad weather? Might as well stay closed thru Easter!

GarethForster1 - 20/12/2010 14:22

The level of service BA are providing in this situation is outrageous, I find it amazing how some people seem to think they are doing a good job. I have not been able to access their website to change reservations at any stage during the last two days and when phoning simply keep getting put on hold for up to 40 mins this morning then cut off! Is this acceptable. This is the grand finale of the year for BA, they have lost my custom for ever. How come the UK cant cope when every other country clearly can!

BusinessTraveller - 20/12/2010 15:55

BA statement (1530):

BAA, the owner of Heathrow, has confirmed that the second runway at the airport will not be available for use again on Tuesday December 21 due to the continuing poor weather.

They are continuing to clear large amounts of snow and ice from the airfield but many areas will not be useable until Wednesday morning at the earliest.

As a result the airport will be operating at very significantly reduced capacity and we have had to adjust our schedule accordingly.

We are planning to operate as many flights as possible, but we have had to make significant cancellations, especially to our shorthaul programme.

We would urge customers not to travel to the airport unless they have a confirmed booking on one of the flights that is operating.

Customers who are travelling to or from Heathrow up until Christmas Eve, whose travel is not essential, are encouraged to cancel their flight, in return for a full refund, or to consider changing their flight to another date over the next 12 months.

We will continue to aim to run as many flights as possible at Gatwick and London City airports on Tuesday.

We are extremely sorry that customers are being inconvenienced and understand how frustrating this is. Our staff are working around the clock to do everything they can to help. We would like to thank our customers for their patience and understanding.

Customers should check on ba.com for the very latest information about their specific flight.

If their flight has been cancelled they can either chose to rebook on an alternative flight or they can claim a full refund.

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