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THE owner of London's Heathrow Airport is warning that the airport could be operating at reduced capacity all week amid expectations the backlog would not be cleared in time for Christmas, reports The Guardian.
"Passengers should anticipate further delays and cancellations in the following days and potentially beyond Christmas Day," BAA was quoted as saying.
The report said this means that tens of thousands of passengers face the prospect of being stranded over the festive period.
BAA said two-thirds of flights into and out of Heathrow would be cancelled until at least the morning of December 22 because it has the resources to keep only one of its two runways open.
The group's chief executive, Colin Matthews, has admitted that BAA had been too slow to clear the snow that has stranded jets at Heathrow's 200 aircraft stands. "We were overly optimistic about how quickly we could clear the stands of snow. I regret that," he said.
In a statement to Members of Parliament (MPs), the UK's Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said BAA told ministers it had been a mistake to try to operate a full schedule on Saturday, December 18 and that it should have "severely" reduced the number of flights departing and arriving. This would have meant the airport would not have been congested with aircraft when the snow fell, the report said.
Mr Hammond was quoted as saying: "What has happened at Heathrow Airport is not acceptable. We have to work with the airport operator and with the airlines to work out how to avoid this kind of situation in the first place ... That is the kind of practical lesson learning that has to be done."
An online report from the Toronto Star said the heavy snow and freezing temperatures have also grounded flights and disrupted travel throughout northern Europe, with more than 1,000 flights cancelled at German airports in Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin. Trains between Britain and France were also running run at slower speeds, adding hours to the journey.
(Source:www.schednet.com)
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