Beast from the East hits air, rail and road travel
British Airways is giving customers due to fly on shorthaul flights to or from Heathrow or Gatwick this week the option to delay their journeys due to adverse weather conditions across parts of the UK and Europe.
The airline has been forced to cancel dozens of flights from Heathrow today, but even passengers whose flights are due to operate are still being given the option to change their bookings.
In an announcement on its website, BA said: "We are expecting adverse weather conditions across parts of the UK and Europe from Monday 26 February to Friday 2 March and at various times of the week it is likely to affect some of our short-haul and domestic flights.
"We recognise the uncertainty that the bad weather may be causing customers and have therefore introduced more flexible rebooking options for all customers on short-haul flights flying to/from London Heathrow or London Gatwick airports.
"If you are due to travel on a short-haul service between Monday 26 February and Friday 2 March (inclusive), regardless of whether your flight is currently showing as operating or not, you can rebook your flight to a later date and travel on dates up to including Wednesday 21 March.
"All rebookings are subject to availability."
The airline said it has agreed with Heathrow and National Air Traffic Services to reduce flights from Heathrow for several hours today.
EasyJet is also warning that its flights might be disrupted by the snow and freezing conditions across the UK and northern Europe this week.
Leeds Bradford Airport suffered one or two flight cancellations this morning and is warning of possible delays throughout the day. Some flights to Liverpool were diverted to Manchester and Birmingham this morning.
Travel conditions are not likely to improve for several days, say forecasters, who are warning that snow will continue well into the week.
An amber snow warning is in place for the North East of England and Scotland from 6am tomorrow to 12pm on Thursday, with up to 40cm of snow expected during that period.
National Rail says the weather is disrupting journeys in East Anglia, Essex and east London, while Transport for London says it will operate a reduced rail timetable throughout Tuesday due to the severe weather.
More delays on the roads, trains and in the air are expected by the middle of the week.
Following Sunday’s chaos at Redhill station, when crowds of passengers were left waiting for replacement buses to Gatwick, there were other problems in the area on Monday, with trains running at reduced speed on some London-bound lines between Balcombe and Gatwick Airport.
Lisa
Lisa joined Travel Weekly nearly 25 years ago as technology reporter and then sailed around the world for a couple of years as cruise correspondent, before becoming deputy editor. Now freelance, Lisa writes for various print and web publications, edits Corporate Traveller’s client magazine, Gateway, and works on the acclaimed Remembering Wildlife series of photography books, which raise awareness of nature’s most at-risk species and helps to fund their protection.
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