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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...

Coldest December ever in Britain as snow piles up, Europe freezes
Treacherous: Ice on the M22 outside Ballymena in Co Antrim made for a dangerous driving conditions. Breaking news!  December can still be cold and snowy over parts of the Northern Hemisphere.  Don’t look to the American media for much information about European weather;  it’s about as foreign as driving on the wrong side of the road.  But, in Britain, Italy, and the rest of Europe, the past several weeks have seen “the Arctic refrigerator door” swing w...

Snow at Heathrow, and Chrissie's a no-go
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. Heavy snow shuts down European runways, forces fast trains to slow down and leaves cars skidding through icy, slushy streets. PERHAPS Elise Robertson should not have wished so hard for a White Christmas with her family in Britain - snow and ice turned her travel plans into an eight-hour round ...

UK: Coldest December since records began...
Swathes of Britain skidded to a halt today as the big freeze returned - grounding flights, closing rail links and leaving traffic at a standstill. And tonight the nation was braced for another 10in of snow and yet more sub-zero temperatures - with no let-up in the bitterly cold weather for at least a month, forecasters have warned. The Arctic conditions are set to last through the Christmas and New Year bank holidays and beyond and as temperatures plummeted to -10c (14f) the Met Office said this...

Big freeze: Arctic conditions to last another month as AA warns of dangerous driving conditions
The Big Freeze will hold us in its grip for at least another month, forecasters warn. Arctic conditions are expected to last through the Christmas and New Year bank holidays and beyond. With temperatures expected to fall to -15c (5f), the Met Office said this is ‘almost certain’ to become the Coldest December since records began in 1910. Yesterday’s Snowfall was largely in the South and West, and in Wales while the South was braced last night for another 10in of snow accompanie...

Coldest December Since Records Began Bringing Travel Chaos Across Britain
© Jeremy Selwyn Chilly: Christmas shoppers in Central London were caught in snow flurries today Millions begin the big Christmas and New Year getaway early as the AA urged motorists to beware of the 'worst driving conditions imaginable' Quarter of train services disrupted, travel warning in Kent Experts warn of a backlog of up to 4 million of parcels which could remain undelivered this Christmas The NHS issues an urgent appeal for Blood Donors as concerns grow over shortages Councils...

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...

UK snow chaos continues after another freezing night
Airplanes are seen parked behind snow on the roof of a parked car at Heathrow yesterday. The airport was able to open one runway this morning. Photograph: Akira Suemori/AP Britain remained in the grip of severe icy weather today, with plunging overnight temperatures creating Travel Chaos and widespread disruption in the final countdown to Christmas. Thousands of commuters were expected to heed police advice to stay off the roads, while the UK's main airports warned that they were only able t...

Snow and ice disrupt pre-Christmas travel in Europe
London (Reuters) - Europe saw little respite on Sunday from the Arctic conditions that closed airports and disrupted travel over the weekend before Christmas, traditionally one of the busiest times of the year. London's Heathrow, the world's busiest International Airport, which was forced to close both its runways for much of Saturday because of heavy snow, was not accepting inbound flights on Sunday and said only a few planes would be leaving. About 30 metric tons of snow were being shifted aw...

The man who repeatedly beats the Met Office at its own game
Well, folks, it's tea-time on Sunday and for anyone involved in keeping people moving it has been a hell of a weekend. Thousands have had their journeys wrecked, tens of thousands have been delayed getting away for Christmas; and for those Londoners who feel aggrieved by the performance of any part of our transport services, I can only say that we are doing our level best. Almost the entire Tube system was running yesterday and we would have done even better if it had not been for a Suicide o...

...half a million air passengers stranded
The boss of Britain’s busiest airport was facing mounting anger after the Christmas travel plans of half a million air passengers were ruined. Passengers stranded at Heathrow were forced to sleep wherever they could. Many bedded down on the floors, surrounded by their luggage and piles of rubbish, while others used foil blankets to ward off the extreme cold Photo: PAUL GROVER Snow and ice grounded the vast majority of flights in and out of Britain, with Heathrow the worst-affected airport...

Ice set to bring more chaos to Britain
By Avril Ormsby LONDON | Sat Dec 18, 2010 8:04pm EST LONDON (Reuters) - Britons Sunday faced little respite from the Arctic conditions that have disrupted travel and shopping plans on the last weekend before Christmas, normally one of the busiest times of the year. Treacherous icy conditions were forecast to replace the blizzards which forced many airports to close, trains to be delayed and motorists to become stranded in their vehicles. Britain's busiest airport London Heathrow, which was cl...

Big freeze: Temperatures plummet to -10C bringing travel chaos across Britain
Swathes of Britain skidded to a halt today as the big freeze returned - grounding flights, closing rail links and leaving traffic at a standstill. And tonight the nation was braced for another 10in of snow and yet more sub-zero temperatures - with no let-up in the bitterly cold weather for at least a month, forecasters have warned. The Arctic conditions are set to last through the Christmas and New Year bank holidays and beyond and as temperatures plummeted to -10c (14f) the Met Office said this...

Ice set to bring more chaos to Britain
LONDON (Reuters) - Britons Sunday faced little respite from the Arctic conditions that have disrupted travel and shopping plans on the last weekend before Christmas, normally one of the busiest times of the year. Treacherous icy conditions were forecast to replace the blizzards which forced many airports to close, trains to be delayed and motorists to become stranded in their vehicles. Britain's busiest airport London Heathrow, which was closed Saturday, may re-open Sunday, but operator BAA did...

Ice set to bring more chaos to Britain
By Avril Ormsby LONDON | Sat Dec 18, 2010 8:04pm EST LONDON (Reuters) - Britons Sunday faced little respite from the Arctic conditions that have disrupted travel and shopping plans on the last weekend before Christmas, normally one of the busiest times of the year. Treacherous icy conditions were forecast to replace the blizzards which forced many airports to close, trains to be delayed and motorists to become stranded in their vehicles. Britain's busiest airport London Heathrow, which was cl...

Snow and ice bring festive havoc to Britain
By Avril Ormsby London | Sat Dec 18, 2010 10:58am EST London (Reuters) - Fresh snow brought much of Britain to a standstill on Saturday, on what is traditionally the busiest weekend for shopping and travel in the run-up to Christmas. Most of western Britain, Northern Ireland and northern Scotland suffered blizzards, while southern England was also blanketed in snow, disrupting trains and road traffic in what Transport Secretary Philip Hammond described as "extraordinary" conditions. The Met O...

Snow and ice bring festive havoc to Britain
By Avril Ormsby LONDON | Sat Dec 18, 2010 8:07am EST LONDON (Reuters) - Fresh snow brought much of Britain to a standstill on Saturday, on what is traditionally the busiest weekend for shopping and travel in the run-up to Christmas. Most of western Britain, Northern Ireland and northern Scotland suffered blizzards, while southern England was also blanketed in snow, disrupting trains and road traffic in what Transport Secretary Philip Hammond described as "extraordinary" conditions. British Ai...

Travellers hit by flight freeze
Snow and ice are continuing to cause disruption to flights in Scotland and on the roads across the country. There will be no flights to Heathrow on Sunday, with limits on Gatwick flights. Dozens of flights into and out of Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen were cancelled on Saturday, affecting more than 16,000 passengers. The Met Office issued a warning of very heavy snows in Edinburgh and the Lothians and heavy snow in the north, East Coast, central belt and Borders. Drivers are advised to exercis...

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...

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 ...

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 Brings Snow to Australia in Midsummer
© unk Australia normally experiences temperatures of 86F (30C) at this time of year, but the chances of a rare White Christmas have increased after plunging temperatures and snow swept across the east of the country. Freezing winds from Antarctica, blown up to Australia by a low-pressure system in the Southern Ocean, gave the country a taste of the conditions that are causing havoc across Europe. Some 11 inches of snow fell at the ski fields in New South Wales, raising the prospect that...

Newspaper review
The continuing fallout from the snow fills the front pages yet again. "Grounded" is the headline on the front of The Independent next to a picture of a barely-visible British Airways plane stuck at a wintry Heathrow Airport. Calling it a "Whitemare Before Christmas", The Sun quotes one traveller who compares Heathrow with a Third World Refugee Camp. The Berlin correspondent of The Times accuses the airport's managers of "bringing Britain into disrepute". The Fi...

UK snow chaos: who's to blame? | Michael White
A snow plough at Heathrow yesterday. Photograph: Luke MacGregor/Reuters A French friend rang from a hotel at Heathrow Airport last night. She and her family had been heading for Christmas at home in rural south-west France, were diverted to Birmingham, driven south on a bus at night. Etc etc. She hopes to get home via Eurostar on Tuesday. It sounded awful, especially the bit about being so desperate that she almost woke us up in search of a bed at 3am. You may well have experienced similar s...

UK SNOW CHAOS: Heathrow Airport boss admits they were not prepared and says he is 'truly sorry' for disruption
The Heathrow chief today gave a grovelling Apology for ruining the Christmas plans of thousands of Britons as he admitted the airport was caught out by the Big Freeze. It is open today but remains crippled, with only around half of its plane stands operational and just a 'handful' of departures scheduled throughout the day. Only one runway is open and BAA bosses say staff are still struggling to clear the plane docking stations of snow and ice, despite it not snowing in London since Saturday. T...