Big freeze causes holiday travel havoc in Europe

Wintry Weather Causes Holiday Travel Havoc in Europe
Monday, December 20, 2010 Passengers, delayed by Bad Weather, wait in Terminal 3 at Heathrow Airport west of London on Sunday, Dec. 19, 2010. (AP Photo/Akira Suemori) London (AP) - Snow and freezing temperatures continued to cause holiday Travel Chaos for road, rail and air passengers in Britain and much of Europe Monday, raising fears that many will not get home in time for Christmas. Airlines said that Heathrow, Europe's busiest airport, was the worst hit by the poor weather -- with only a ...

Anger rises as travel havoc snarls Britain, Europe
LONDON — Frustrated travelers in Europe expressed fury Monday at transportation officials’ inability to clear snow and ice from planes, runways and high-speed train tracks, failings that have caused holiday Travel Chaos and fears that many will not get home in time for Christmas. The continent’s worst bottleneck was London’s Heathrow Airport, where thousands of travelers were stranded overnight as Flight Cancellations increased even as other major European airports resume...

Heavy snow, cold disrupt travel across north Europe
BERLIN/London (Reuters) – Snow and freezing temperatures grounded flights and disrupted road and rail links across Northern Europe on Monday, stranding travelers and closing schools. Only one of two runways at London Heathrow, the world's busiest International Airport, was operating after a weekend snowstorm, forcing thousands to camp out in terminals. More than 1,000 flights at German airports in Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin were canceled, disrupting business and Christmas holiday p...

Snow and Ice Snarl European Holiday Travel
Learn about the people, economy and history. Frustrated travelers in Europe expressed fury Monday at transportation officials' inability to clear runways and high-speed train tracks after a snowstorm that has wreaked holiday Travel Chaos and spawned fears many people won't get home for Christmas. More than 48 hours after the last heavy Snowfall, English authorities continued to struggle to get rid of buildups of snow and ice. The continent's worst bottleneck was London's Heathrow Airport, where...

Christmas chaos as snow snarls European travel
Thousands of angry travellers struggled Monday to get home for Christmas as snow and ice caused fresh chaos at European airports and paralysed roads and railways across the frozen continent. International hubs London, Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Brussels tried to clear a backlog of passengers forced to sleep on terminal floors for up to three days as they sought to reach their destinations by the end of the week. Authorities in Frankfurt sent in clowns in a bid to cheer up travellers, but fu...

Travel freeze: Your stories
Ice, snow and sub-zero temperatures in Northern Europe have disrupted travel, leaving Europe's busiest airport Heathrow, near London, all but closed. Flights were also cancelled on Monday in Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Brussels and seven in ten services were running at the two main Paris airports. Here, stranded passengers describe their ordeals. "Me and my friend are stuck in Moscow without a visa. This was supposed to be a two-hour stop over for an Aeroflot flight to Heathrow. We are b...

Europe weather ruins Christmas for airlines
Tue Dec 21, 2010 7:18am EST (Corrects figure in second paragraph to about 3,000 flights cancelled, not more than 22,000) By Rhys Jones and James Davey LONDON (Reuters) - Snow and freezing temperatures grounded flights across Northern Europe on Tuesday, while Retailers fretted they would struggle to make up sales lost due to Bad Weather with just four shopping days to Christmas. Eurocontrol, the umbrella group for air-traffic control across 38 countries, said more services would likely operate...

Cold weather snarls European travel
Erik Kirschbaum, Reuters · Monday, Dec. 20, 2010 Berlin, Dec 20 — Heavy snow and frigid temperatures caused further disruption across Northern Europe on Monday — stranding travellers, snarling traffic and shutting schools. More than 1,000 flights at Germany’s main airports in Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin were cancelled and many more delayed after up to 40 centimetres of fresh snow blanketed the country. Some 500 stranded passengers slept on cots at Frankfurt airport. Airli...

Christmas canceled for 1M air travelers
LONDON, Dec. 21 (UPI) -- Christmas was canceled for nearly a million air travelers as London Heathrow Airport said flights would be delayed or canceled through at least this weekend. Hundreds of thousands of people may not find seats until the New Year, Heathrow operator BAA Ltd. acknowledged, as snow, ice and frigid temperatures also turned road and rail travel into chaos. The severe weather grounded flights and disrupted travel throughout Northern Europe, with the French army removing stranded...

Europe's weather woes strand thousands of Canadians
Severe winter weather in Europe is continuing to affect thousands of Canadian air travellers hoping to make it home for the holidays, with Air Canada forced to cut two-thirds of its flights through London Heathrow Airport Monday while other Airlines experience delays or cancellations on the mainland. Snow and freezing fog have disrupted Air Travel across Europe for the past three days with as much as 20 centimeters of snow falling in parts of the U.K. Airlines including Air Canada, Cathay Pacifi...

Snow Thwarts Christmas Plans for Thousands
A passenger sits on a makeshift bed after waiting overnight for a flight from Terminal 3 at Heathrow Airport, Dec. 20, 2010, in London, England. (Getty Images) Learn about the people, economy and history. (CBS/AP) The Christmas travel season has turned angry and chaotic as British officials struggled to clear snow and ice that paralyzed rail and air links and spawned cancellations and delays stranding thousands around the world. More than 48 hours after Britain's last Snowfall, some furious pa...

Fresh snow forces Frankfurt to suspend flights
Passengers are seen at the Terminal 1 in Heathrow Airport in London, as they wait for their flights, most of which were canceled due to severe weather which hit Britain on last weekend, on Monday, Dec. 20, 2010. More than 48 hours after the last heavy Snowfall, English authorities continued to struggle to get rid of buildups of snow and ice. The European continent's worst bottleneck was London's Heathrow Airport, where thousands of travelers were stranded overnight as Flight Cancellations increa...

Snow causes pre-Christmas travel chaos in Europe
BERLIN (Reuters) - Heavy snow and freezing temperatures caused Travel Chaos across northern Europe on Friday, with hundreds of German flights cancelled and icy roads wreaking havoc in Poland and the Netherlands ahead of Christmas. A spokesman for Frankfurt airport operator Fraport (FRAG.DE) said 400 of 1,400 scheduled flights had been cancelled at continental Europe's busiest airport, even though Germany's financial capital escaped the worst of the winter weather. Another 100 flights were cancel...

UK snow disruption - live updates
Britain is not new to cold winters. In 1995 Humberside dropped to -21C, As a child 40 years ago, the snow was 2 feet deep everywhere. Fuel froze in the trains in Inverness when it dipped to -34 C.Why are we so surprised when airports close and roads are impassable. It will probably happen next year too. Would heated runways work, but then everyone still has to get to the airport on the snow covered roads. We heat football pictches but still cancel matches. Anyone booking a flight or organizing ...

UK: Big freeze: Travel Plans of a Million People in Chaos
Christmas travel plans for more than a million people were thrown into chaos as snow and freezing temperatures wreaked havoc at Britain's airports. Arctic conditions forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights from terminals up and down the country on what is traditionally the busiest weekend of the year for the travelling public. Runway closures at Heathrow and Gatwick led to delays of several hours for those who did manage to fly, but with more heavy snow forecast for today, travellers h...

Holiday travel for Californians rises
The stormy weather might make the going tougher, but it won't keep a greater number of Northern Californians from treating themselves to a holiday trip this year. For the first time since The Economy took a plunge in 2008, the number of travelers is estimated to go up. More than 11.6 million Californians are expected to travel leading up to Christmas and through New Year's - a 3 percent increase from last year, according to AAA's annual holiday travel survey. "What this indicates is a very mea...

Holiday travel for Californians rises
The stormy weather might make the going tougher, but it won't keep a greater number of Northern Californians from treating themselves to a holiday trip this year. For the first time since The Economy took a plunge in 2008, the number of travelers is estimated to go up. More than 11.6 million Californians are expected to travel leading up to Christmas and through New Year's - a 3 percent increase from last year, according to AAA's annual holiday travel survey. "What this indicates is a very mea...

Europe trapped in deep freeze
Provide feedback to the multimedia producers. Thank you. Your feedback was successfully sent. Video will begin in 5 seconds. What type of connection do you have? Your video format settings have been saved. Snow wreaks havoc on travellers across Western Europe on Sunday with thousands of flights cancelled. Paris: Much of Europe remained paralysed as a new wave of heavy snow and ice swept as far south as Italy, closing airports, roads and railway lines. Although a White Christmas appeared to be on...

Winter disruptions turn travel bitter and chaotic in Europe
LONDON (AP) — The Christmas travel season turned angry and chaotic Monday as British officials struggled to clear snow and ice that paralyzed rail and air links and spawned cancellations and delays stranding thousands around the world. More than 48 hours after Britain's last Snowfall, some furious passengers with boarding passes for Monday flights were not even allowed into London's Heathrow Airport. Inside, piles of garbage grew and some people slept on terminal floors. Other travelers wai...

BRITAIN CRAWLS TO A HALT...
National embarrassment deepened to abject humiliation last night as more than half a million Christmas travellers remained stranded in the UK. Major arterial roads and the Channel Rail Link ground to a standstill, unable to cope with drifting snow, Black Ice and "Refugees" from Heathrow. Temperatures were expected to drop to -13C last night and snow is expected across much of the country again today, particularly in southern England, Wales, the Midlands and Scotland. There is little prospect of ...

Winter disruptions turn travel bitter and chaotic...
LONDON – The Christmas travel season turned angry and chaotic Monday as British officials struggled to clear snow and ice that paralyzed rail and air links and spawned cancellations and delays stranding thousands around the world. More than 48 hours after Britain's last Snowfall, some furious passengers with boarding passes for Monday flights were not even allowed into London's Heathrow Airport. Inside, piles of garbage grew and some people slept on terminal floors. Other travelers waited ...

'Havoc' Continues In Europe As Snow Snarls Travel
Passengers wait for flights in the check-in area of London's Terminal 3 at Heathrow Airport on Dec. 20, 2010. The statue of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in London. The statue of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in London. There are "travelers" (a word that doesn't quite apply, as you'll see) who are about to spend a third night camped out in London's Heathrow airport because brutal winter weather across much of Europe continues to disrupt Air Travel. From London...

Planes grounded, thousands of festive holidays ruined, drivers stranded for hours as another foot of snow falls on Britain
© PA Shovelling snow while it's still snowing: Workers at Heathrow try to clear the snow after all flights at the airport were grounded over the weekend Up to eight more inches of snow to fall today Severe delays on London Underground during rush hour Man dies after falling through ice on fishing lake BA cancels 70 of 130 departures and 89 of 133 arrivals this morning Eurostar urging passengers not to travel unless absolutely necessary Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen airports open but exp...

Record low temperatures hit Northern Ireland
© Rebekah Hall Further overnight snow continues to cause disruption across Northern Ireland. Temperatures in Northern Ireland plummeted to their lowest on record with -18C recorded at Castlederg, Co Tyrone last night. A further 10 to 15cms of snow fell in some areas and the freezing conditions have made roads hazardous. BBC weather presenter Angie Philips said temperatures would again remain low on Monday, with conditions on the roads "treacherous". "Temperatures will fall dramatically...

Holiday travel for Californians rises
The stormy weather might make the going tougher, but it won't keep a greater number of Northern Californians from treating themselves to a holiday trip this year. For the first time since The Economy took a plunge in 2008, the number of travelers is estimated to go up. More than 11.6 million Californians are expected to travel leading up to Christmas and through New Year's - a 3 percent increase from last year, according to AAA's annual holiday travel survey. "What this indicates is a very mea...