Europe’s travel misery set to continue

Some of Europe’s busiest airports continue to be disrupted by ice, snow and sub-zero temperatures.

Europe’s busiest airport, Heathrow, is operating a reduced flying schedule until 06.00 on Wednesday, December 22.

A maximum one-third of flights are likely to operate during this period, and passengers have been warned to expect further delays and cancellations in the following days and potentially beyond Christmas Day.

Passengers have been told not to travel to Heathrow without a confirmed booking.

“If passengers can travel at another time then they should do so,” advises the Heathrow website.

Emirates and Etihad Airways have put on extra flights to clear passenger backlogs. Emirates said it added three flights out of the UK.

Etihad passengers stranded in the UAE were put up in hotels on Yas Island at the airline’s expense. The airline estimated 2,000 passengers travelling into or out of London were affected by the closure.

Flights were also cancelled on Monday in Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Brussels and seven in 10 services were running at the two main Paris airports.

There were also severe delays on the Eurostar rail service between the UK and France and Belgium, and Thalys trains between France and Belgium were also affected.

In Italy, the airports at Florence and Pisa reopened after a weekend of cancellations.

British Airways is advising its passengers to check their flight status on their mobile phone by visiting ba2go.com.

BA says those who do not need to travel at this time can cancel their flight, and get a refund, or change their flight to another date in the next 355 days.

BA expects to operate the vast majority of its flights into and out of London Gatwick and London City, although some flights may be subject to delays.