Singer Madonna adds to Heathrow’s swirling controversy

Controversies over snow-removing efforts and even America’s popular singer Madonna continued to swirl as European travel was improving today with airports finally clearing a huge backlog of passengers.
 

Madonna, known as the “Material Girl,” managed to escape the great European storm amid some controversy.
 

The singer was on board a flight headed to London’s Heathrow when it was diverted to Stanstead Airport due to heavy snowfall. Most passengers were kept on board for three hours but Madonna was allowed to leave early, according to The Daily Mail.
 

“It was bad enough having to wait but then she started doing her yoga in the aisles,” complained one passenger.
 

The European storm’s impact was not limited to the UK. It had an impact on North America travel as well with thousands of traves forced to delay or even cancel their European trips.
 

“Recent winter storms turned much of Europe into an igloo, and those snow jams have had a rippling effect at airports here in the US,” reported the Chicago Tribune.
 

Many Canadian flights were also cancelled but a spokesman for Air Canada said service is trying to return to normal.
 

"Air Canada has been given permission to reinstate its full schedule of nine flights a day to London Heathrow following several days of sharp restrictions imposed on carriers by the airport. We are now focused on restoring our full operation and moving the backlog of passengers,” said a spokesman for the airline.
 

Heathrow Airport was operating a reduced flight schedule as it brings aircraft and crews scattered around Europe back into position, and the outlook was improving, reported Reuters.
 

“We’re working hard to get people back home for Christmas,” said a spokeswoman for BAA, the airport’s operator.
 

BAA has come under fire for its lack of preparation and slow response to the weather, especially at Heathrow.
 

Like other airports, Heathrow warned passengers not to come to the facility  unless their airlines had confirmed their flights.
 

The Guardian wrote that Heathrow’s airport operator warned the facility "could remain in a state of partial paralysis beyond Christmas. Britain’s largest airport owner warned it could be operating at reduced capacity all week, with experts predicting the backlog would not be cleared in time for 25 December."
 

Already, the winter-weather delays have stranded nearly a million passengers, The Wall Street Journal reported.
 

Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport, which serves Paris, reported that traffic was picking up, but said disruptions continued.
 

Frankfurt Airport said it was operating subject to possible delays and cancellations from wintry weather and reduced visibility.
 

The possibility of another round of bad weather threatened to complicate the authorities’ efforts to restore normal service, according to various reports.
 

The prospects are grim for the rest of the week, with snow predicted in Wales, the Midlands and northeast England, and with temperatures expected to fall again to as low as minus 4 in northern England and Scotland.
 

The European Union’s transportation commissioner complained that not enough was being done and warned Europe’s airport operators to “get serious about planning for this kind of severe weather conditions.”
 

The commissioner, Siim Kallas of Estonia, said that he would meet with airport operators to demand “further explanations and to take a hard look at what is necessary to make sure they would be able to operate more effectively.”
 

He said:
 

“Better preparedness, in line with what is done in northern Europe, is not an optional extra; it must be planned for and with the necessary investment, particularly on the side of the airports.”
 

By David Wilkening