The government has given Heathrow permission to operate flights throughout the night, with delays and cancellations expected in the following days and "potentially beyond Christmas Day".
In a statement published on the airport operator's homepage this afternoon, BAA said:
"We have agreed a reduced flying schedule until 06:00 on Wednesday 22nd December. A maximum one-third of flights are likely to operate during this period, and passengers should anticipate further delays and cancellations in the following days and potentially beyond Christmas Day.
"Passengers should not travel to Heathrow without a confirmed booking. If passengers can travel at another time then they should do so.
"This limited schedule provides airlines and passengers with more clarity in order to plan which flights are taking off and which are cancelled. We aim to provide passengers with better and more timely information. Airlines are currently updating which flights have been cancelled and the flight information board below shows the latest available flight information. If the flight status shows 'contact airline', the flight will not be operating today. Passengers must not travel to the airport unless they have confirmed that their flight is leaving today – airline contact numbers are available here.
"The Government has decided to permit extra flights throughout the night at Heathrow. The northern runway at Heathrow is open and handling a limited number of arrivals and departures. Earlier in the day, we prioritised aircraft that had previously been diverted, in order to bring passengers to Heathrow and get airline crews and aircraft in the right place.
"Heathrow Airport was closed over the weekend following a 5in snowfall in around one hour on Saturday. There have been subsequent swings in temperature, to the extent that ice built up around the aircraft parked on the ground. Heathrow is currently using every available member of staff and several hundred additional contractors have been brought in to clear the situation. BAA has also deployed additional staff to provide comfort to passengers in its terminals.
"We are sorry for the disruption caused and will reflect carefully on the lessons we can learn and the steps we need to take to better prepare for these periods of poor weather.
"We will provide regular updates on this site and you can also keep up to date by following us on Twitter."
