Weather: Snow And Ice Causes Heathrow Misery

Hundreds of flights have already been cancelled on another day of weather misery for Britain after heavy snow gave way to ice.

Passengers at Heathrow Airport in west London faced further disruption after many were stranded on planes for seven hours or forced to sleep on the floor.

More than 100 flights have been cancelled, which will add to the chaos caused by the cancellation of more than 400 on Friday.

Elsewhere, drivers are being warned of treacherous conditions after heavy snow on Friday across much of Britain turned to ice overnight.

A young woman from Peterborough was killed in a crash involving a number of vehicles shortly after 6pm on Friday, Lincolnshire Police said.

It is not known if anyone else was injured in the accident, which happened in bad weather on the A1 at Little Ponton, near Grantham.

The Met Office is forecasting less snow for Saturday but has issued yellow warnings for ice for large swathes of the country.

Planes grounded at Heathrow Airport

With more heavy snow possible on Sunday, the Highways Agency has said its fleet of snow ploughs and gritters will be out in force throughout the weekend.

Heathrow said its runways were open on Saturday with no restrictions, but services were still being disrupted following Friday's heavy snow.

Of 104 flights cancelled on Saturday, 100 were with British Airways, which has faced criticism for its handling of the disruption so far.

Husband and wife David and Janet Brindle, from Cumbria, branded BA's customer service and treatment of passengers caught up in the chaos as "appalling" and said some people had been close to tears.

The couple sat on a plane at Manchester airport from 9am until 3pm on Friday and have been stuck at Heathrow since missing their connecting flight to New Zealand.

Mrs Brindle said: "They got us off the plane but our bags weren't off. Not a single person came to tell us what was happening.

"Most people missed their connecting long-haul flights from Heathrow. We were advised to make our own way to Heathrow, so that's what we did.

A woman sleeping on the floor at Heathrow

"Nobody knew what they were doing. They couldn't tell us anything - they were quite rude, actually."

British Airways said in a statement: "We are doing everything we can to help customers whose flights have been disrupted by severe weather.

"We are also offering customers who no longer wish to travel today and tomorrow the option to rebook their flight to a later date.

"Due to the severe weather yesterday, there will be knock-on disruption to flights today and we would strongly advise customers to check the very latest status of their flight via ba.com before coming to the airport."

Some passengers on British Airways flights told Sky News that they have spent up to seven hours on aircraft which have never left the runway.

Sky Reporter Clare Fallon, at Heathrow, said: "It's a surreal sight, there are hundreds of people on the floor trying to get some sleep because they are essentially stranded here. Some have told me they have been here since 11am yesterday morning.

Hundreds of flights have been cancelled since Friday

"People feel very frustrated and stressed, and they don't understand how a relatively small amount of snow has been able to cause so much chaos."

Flights in and out of Gatwick escaped major disruption yesterday, but the airport advised passengers flying out this weekend to contact their airlines to check flight status.

The Highways Agency said several motorway lanes and major A roads had closed due to the snow and ice, as well as several crashes.

Drivers have been warned to be extra careful as freezing temperatures turn the snow to treacherous ice.

The deepest snowfall has been measured at 26cm in Sennybridge, Wales, although snow has been thawing in other areas and some train services have been returning to normal.

There have also been severe hold-ups for rail passengers, with many companies cancelling services to help them cope with problems caused by the weather. Train firms are advising passengers to check with operators before travelling.

But while commuters have been facing misery, the winter wonderland scenes have brought joy to thousands of youngsters who were given the day off school.

Few parts of the UK will escape the wintry weather as it continues into the weekend.

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There is up to 10cm of snow likely in northern and eastern England as well as Ireland and southern and eastern Scotland on Saturday. Snow elsewhere will be lighter but it will be bitterly cold.

Sunday could also bring persistent but light snow to southeast England and some flurries for Scotland.

Darron Burness, from the AA, said commuting in the wintry conditions was "likely to test man and machine".

Those who decide to travel have been urged to travel prepared with a fully charged mobile phone, warm waterproof clothes, boots and a blanket, some food and drink, and have a torch, ice scraper, de-icer and a shovel.

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