Travellers breathe easy as London's Heathrow Airport returned to its normal schedule on Monday after nearly half its regular flights were grounded on account of heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures all across the European continent.
London Heathrow, one of the world's busiest airports, generally operates approximately 1,300 flights a day and caters to nearly 180,000 people. However, the schedule was trimmed down considerably on Sunday after a snow cover blanketed the UK.
"Heathrow is open and our usual flight schedule is operating today," the airport said in a statement yesterday.
"There will, however, be a handful of cancellations as result of yesterday's disruption. We advise passengers to contact their airlines to check before they come to the airport," the statement added.
Thousands of passengers were left stranded as the airport cancelled a number of flights on Saturday and Sunday.
On Saturday, approximately 200 flights were grounded to ‘minimise disruption to passengers' as forecasts of heavy snow and possible freezing fog did the rounds. This led to heavy criticism of the Spanish-owned operator BAA as the move left thousands of passengers jostling with their travel plans.
On Sunday, flights were again cancelled even as forecasters predicted dry conditions. Half of the flights at the airport were axed, leading to scenes of utter chaos and confusion at the airport.
BAA said in a statement issued on Sunday that the airport was working to clear the backlog of flights and "getting back to normal."
It said: "We took the decision with airlines and air traffic control yesterday to reduce the flight schedule in advance.
"By cancelling flights in advance airlines have been able to rebook some people on to flights that are departing, and passengers have had better quality information about whether they can fly or not."
Stansted, Gatwick Birmingham and Luton also suspended operations for some time on Saturday night but flight operations resumed the next day.
Gatwick airport said in a statement that it was "open for business" but passengers are advised to ensure the status of their flight with their respective airline before venturing out.
Stansted also stated it was "open and operating as normal."
Airline Updates
Aer Lingus, Ireland's flag carrier was forced to cancel 16 flights between Ireland and the UK over the weekend. The airline deployed a large aircraft to accommodate travellers whose flights were cancelled. The airline's services are currently normal.
Ryanair, an Irish airline known for offering cheap flight tickets, axed four flights on Saturday and one service on Sunday due to whether conditions. Ryanair said passengers with air tickets for cancelled flights will be transferred to next available service free of charge, ensuring their cheap flights remain cheap. Ryanair is now operating normally.
Gulf carriers, Emirates and Etihad Airways, also resumed their daily flight service to London Heathrow on Monday. Both these airlines cancelled flights to London on Sunday. Qatar Airways and Royal Jordanian flights to London are also operating as per schedule.
Indian carriers were also forced to cancel flights to London. Kingfisher grounded its Mumbai-London and Delhi-London flights, whereas Air India clubbed its morning Delhi-London flight with the one that was supposed to fly later in the day.
