SNOW UPDATE – Government steps in to rescue Heathrow passengers

Latest update: Wednesday 10:20

The Government has given Heathrow the go-ahead to operate throughout the night this week to try to clear the backlog of passengers hoping to get away for Christmas.

The decision to allow extra night flights was made after the airport’s owners BAA came in for some heavy criticism for the way in which Heathrow, one of the world’s busiest airports, was brought to a standstill by a few inches of snow and ice.

Transport secretary Philip Hammond made a statement to the Commons last night telling MPs he had instructed his officials to work with the airports operator to make sure it was better equipped to cope in the future.

Heathrow has already admitted it was unprepared for such severe weather and acknowledged it needs to invest more in the future.

According to a report in the Daily Telegraph, BAA is expected to make a pre-tax profit of nearly £1bn this year and yet it spent just £500,000 on snow and ice-busting equipment for Heathrow this winter.

That’s only half as much as chief executive Colin Matthews will be paid in salary, bonuses and pension contributions, claims the Telegraph.

Down the road, Gatwick has spent £1m on new snow ploughs this year and plans to spend a further £7m next year, said the report. It has 150 staff working to clear the snow and ice, compared to 50 snow and ice-clearing specialists at Heathrow.

Three days since the last heavy snowfall, one of the airport’s two runways remains closed and two-thirds of its flights have been cancelled at least until 06:00 on Wednesday.

"The northern runway at Heathrow is open and handling a limited number of arrivals and departures," said a spokesman.

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

"Passengers should not travel to Heathrow without a confirmed booking. If passengers can travel at another time then they should do so."

It said airlines are now updating their services on the Heathrow website – www.heathrowairport.com.

If a flight is showing as ‘contact airline’ it means it is not operating.

"This limited schedule provides airlines and passengers with more clarity in order to plan which flights are taking off and which are cancelled," said Heathrow.

"We aim to provide passengers with better and more timely information."

Heathrow said that in addition to having one airport closed, it was struggling to get aircraft off the stands due to a build up of ice.

"There have been subsequent swings in temperature to the extent that ice built up around the aircraft parked on the ground. Heathrow is currently using every available member of staff and several hundred additional contractors have been brought in to clear the situation. BAA has also deployed additional staff to provide comfort to passengers in its terminals," said a spokesman.

"We are sorry for the disruption caused and will reflect carefully on the lessons we can learn and the steps we need to take to better prepare for these periods of poor weather."

**Have you, or your clients, been affected by the snow disruption? Are you struggling to deal with calls from worried customers? Have your Christmas plans been ruined? What do you think of the way the airports have dealt with the problems?

Share your views with us by clicking on ADD A COMMENT below.

By Linsey McNeill and Bev Fearis