Snow and ice disrupt pre-Christmas travel in Europe

'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...

Christmas getaway misery as snow stymies Europe
A couple walks on a bank of the River Seine in Paris. Two of the four runwa... Heavy snow disrupted the Christmas holiday getaway in Europe, forcing the continent's biggest airports to close and thousands of stranded passengers to spend the night on terminal floors. In London, Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Brussels, flights were cancelled and airports warned of backlogs spilling into next week, with snow and ice frustrating travel plans across Europe on the last weekend before December 25. H...

Big freeze causes holiday travel havoc in Europe
LONDON - 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 limited number of flights to arrive and depart. Hundreds of passengers camped overnight in terminal buildings after services were canceled or delayed. British Airwa...

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 ...

Europe shuts down after being blanketed by global warming
Lady GaGa's gig got canceled too because of heavy Snowfall Global Warming. That's a shame: From the AP via The Detroit News: Europe's snow cancels flights, Lady Gaga show Stranded travelers slept on makeshift beds at European airports Sunday as wintry weather caused travel havoc, dashing the hopes of those attempting to head away for the holidays by road, rail and air. ...Heathrow Airport, Europe's busiest hub for air passengers, stopped accepting arrivals Sunday at the start o...

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...

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 ...

Snow, ice put travel at near standstill
American singer Lady GaGa perfoms at O2 Arena in London Dec. 16, 2010. UPI/Rune Hellestad LONDON, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- Workers at Europe's major airports cleared snow and ice Monday while travelers scrambled to try to reach their destinations for Christmas. Airports in London, Paris and Germany reported canceling dozens of flights as Europe remained in winter's icy and snowy grip, CNN reported. U.S. singer Lady GaGa postponed a Sunday concert in Paris because her trucks couldn't get through. "Today'...

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...

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...

Conditions 'worst in 25 years'
The Roads Service NI network manager has said the recent cold spell is "the worst prolonged conditions I have experienced" in 25 years. Temperatures in NI dipped to the lowest on record with -18C recorded at Castlederg, Co Tyrone, on Sunday night. The Met Office has said the minimum temperature on Monday night is likely to be -15C. The Roads Service's Colin Brown said they have been facing "an enormous challenge" to keep main roads open. "Forecasts are indicating t...

Europe's snow cancels flights _ and Lady Gaga show
PARIS - Heavy snow on Sunday shut down European airport runways, forced fast trains to slow down and left cars skidding through icy, slushy streets on a weekend where many people were trying to head home for the holidays. Travelers camped out at airports overnight. London's Heathrow Airport stopped accepting arrivals Sunday, causing havoc at the start of the Christmas travel rush. About 40 percent of flights were canceled at Frankfurt airport and Paris' Charles de Gaulle. In the French cap...

Heavy snow hits air travel, roads across Europe
LONDON - Blizzards and freezing temperatures shut down runways, train tracks and highways across Europe on Saturday, disrupting flights and leaving shivering drivers stranded on roadsides. Airports in Britain, Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands and Denmark reported cancelations or delays to flights. London's Gatwick Airport closed its runway — despite the efforts of 150 staff using 47 snow plows, while British Airways suspended all flights from Heathrow. "Heathrow is fully opera...

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...

Snow, ice ground flights in Europe
A woman bundled in a coat with a hood walks past a snow-covered VW Beetle on a frigid day on December 19, 2010 in Berlin, Germany. Heavy snowfalls across Europe are grounding hundreds of airline flights in winter weather unusually bitter for this time of year. Avril Ormsby, Reuters · Sunday, Dec. 19, 2010 LONDON - Europe saw little respite on Sunday from the Arctic conditions that have closed airports and disrupted travel on the weekend before Christmas, traditionally one of the busiest tim...

Climate Change
Global warming, the heating of the atmosphere by increased amounts of industrial gases, is now accepted as a reality by the international community. Average temperatures in Britain were nearly 0.6°C higher in the Nineties than in 1960-90, and it is estimated that they will increase by 0.2C every decade over the coming century. Eight of the 10 Hottest years on record occurred in the Nineties. However, the warming is so far manifesting itself more in winters which are less cold than in much h...

German Airports Hire Clowns to Entertain
(AFP) - With travelers stranded by hundreds of Flight Cancellations, Germany's busiest airport has hired clowns to help them and their Children pass the hours, a spokeswoman said Monday. "Four clowns are performing in the terminal halls," the spokeswoman for Frankfurt's International Airport said. "We came up with the idea for the kids, who are finding the delays particularly trying," she added. The clowns, dressed in brightly colored costumes and some parading on stilts, started working at the ...

Record low temperatures for NI
Hundreds of schools are again closed in Northern Ireland with more snow overnight. Belfast's two main airports are open but cancellations and delays are expected to continue. City of Derry Airport reopened at 1100 GMT. Temperatures in NI dipped to their lowest on record with -18C recorded at Castlederg, County Tyrone. There has been a further 10 to 15cms of snow in some places, with freezing conditions making roads hazardous. "Temperatures will fall dramatically tonight, maybe getting ...

Aussies, Kiwis tell of Heathrow 'hell'
Hell on earth. Like a Refugee Camp during a war. These are just some of the descriptions from emotionally wrought, stranded passengers forced to spend a night at Heathrow Airport during the current chaos caused by the freezing temperatures. Australians and New Zealanders are trying desperately to scramble onto planes at British airports in a bid to be home in time for Christmas. With temperatures dipping to minus 10 degrees Celsius in the early hours of Monday and an enormous backlog of flights ...

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 getaway misery as snow stymies Europe
Heavy snow disrupted the Christmas holiday getaway in Europe, forcing the continent's biggest airports to close and thousands of stranded passengers to spend the night on terminal floors. In London, Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Brussels, flights were cancelled and airports warned of backlogs spilling into next week, with snow and ice frustrating travel plans across Europe on the last weekend before December 25. Hundreds of passengers had to sleep in terminals after becoming trapped in no man...

Heavy Snow Stalls Air Travel, Roads Across Europe
Blizzards and freezing temperatures shut down runways, train tracks and highways across Europe on Saturday, disrupting flights and leaving shivering drivers stranded on roadsides. Airports in Britain, Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands and Denmark reported cancelations or delays to flights. London's Gatwick Airport closed its runway — despite the efforts of 150 staff using 47 snow plows, while British Airways suspended all flights from Heathrow. "Heathrow is fully operational but we a...

Europe’s snow cancels flights, Lady Gaga show
London— Stranded travelers slept on makeshift beds at European airports Sunday as wintry weather caused travel havoc, dashing the hopes of those attempting to head away for the holidays by road, rail and air. It is almost inevitable that some cancelations and delays will continue through this week, potentially causing further disruption for many Christmas travelers, British travel industry group ABTA said. Heathrow Airport, Europe's busiest hub for air passengers, stopped accepting arriv...

Christmas getaway misery as snow stymies Europe
Heavy snow disrupted the Christmas holiday getaway in Europe, forcing the continent's biggest airports to close and thousands of stranded passengers to spend the night on terminal floors. In London, Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Brussels, flights were cancelled and airports warned of backlogs spilling well into this week, with snow and ice frustrating travel plans across Europe on the last weekend before December 25. Hundreds of passengers had to sleep in terminals after becoming trapped in no...

Christmas getaway misery as snow stymies Europe
Heavy snow disrupted the Christmas holiday getaway in Europe, forcing the continent's biggest airports to close and thousands of stranded passengers to spend the night on terminal floors. In London, Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Brussels, flights were cancelled and airports warned of backlogs spilling well into this week, with snow and ice frustrating travel plans across Europe on the last weekend before December 25. Hundreds of passengers had to sleep in terminals after becoming trapped in no...