ABTA urges festive holidaymakers to check first

ABTA is urging passengers not to travel to airports without checking the status of their flight before leaving home.

Spokesman Sean Tipton implied that many of those stranded at UK airports should not have been there in the first place.

"If they had checked with their tour operator or airline before heading to the airport, they would have been told to stay at home," he said.

"Things seem to be getting back to normal now but passengers must check with their airline or their tour operator to see if their flight has been delayed or cancelled before they go to the airport. If they get to the airport and their flight has been cancelled they should go home.

"It is much better to stay at home than to hang around an airport."

Thousands of British holidaymakers were stranded overnight at the weekend at Heathrow and Gatwick after hundreds of flights from both airports were cancelled. Some who travelled to Heathrow on Saturday and were unable to leave the airport after police closed access roads due to difficult driving conditions.

Both airports are now operational but Heathrow is only running a limited service. Gatwick said it was still suffering delays and cancellations, as are many other airports across the country.

ABTA said passengers who were stuck at airports in the UK or overseas would be provided with accommodation and alternative travel arrangements by their tour operator or airline where necessary, but passengers are not entitled to compensation for delays and cancellations as these are beyond the airlines’ control.

An estimated 4m people will be trying to get away during the Christmas holidays, but ABTA said it had no figures for how many were due to travel this weekend or how many were stranded.

Playing down the crisis slightly on Sunday, Tipton added: "I suspect that, in spite of  the media reports, there are not many thousands of holidaymakers stuck at UK airports.

"The majority of those who are stranded at airports this weekend are foreigners trying to get home for Christmas. I would think that, in spite of the media reports, the majority are not British holidaymakers because if you are going on holiday the sensible thing to do when your flight is cancelled is to go home, or simply to stay at home in the first place."

By Linsey McNeill