Misery for millions as great Christmas getaway begins with blizzards shutting airports and causing chaos on the roads

By PAUL SIMS

Beating the blizzard: A man makes his way through snow storm in Epsom


Gatwick, Heathrow, Birmingham and Southampton airport closed

AA attends 1,200 breakdowns every hour

Up to 20cm expected in parts of the UK

Hundreds of drivers trapped on M6 overnight

Backlog of up to 4m parcels could remain undelivered

Urgent appeal for blood donors after concerns of shortages

Grit to be shared amid fears of cold snap until January 14


Millions of Britons were facing travel chaos today as snow and ice left motorways and airports closed and train services disrupted.

Gatwick Airport has cancelled all flights until 3pm today, with further problems in Ireland, Scotland and Wales. British Airways cancelled all their flights out of Heathrow.

Overnight blizzards and plummeting temperatures buckled a huge chunk of the country's road, air and rail networks on the busiest weekend for travel and shopping before Christmas.


British Airways has cancelled all flights to and from London Heathrow today


Mr Derbyshire, who was forced to complete the last two hours of his journey on foot, told BBC Radio Five Live: 'It is absolute mayhem.'

The M61 northbound in Greater Manchester was also closed between junctions 6 and 8 due to an accident.

Some commuters took the drastic step of abandoning their cars overnight but this hindered the efforts of gritters who were battling to keep the road networks moving.

Severe weather warnings of heavy snow and widespread icy roads are in place in London and the South East, the South West, the Midlands, the North West and Yorkshire and Humber.


The M6 ground to a halt after snow caused a lorry to jack-knife. Many spent the night on in their vehicles


Wales, northern Scotland and Northern Ireland - which had experienced its heaviest snow for 25 years - were also issued with severe warnings.

Forecasters have predicted that it could be the coldest December on record, with a current average temperature of minus 0.7. That sits at five degrees below the long-term average.


Shut down: British Airways planes are grounded out of Heathrow Airport until 5pm


Up to 15cm of snow is expected to hit London today while weathermen suggested around 20cm could fall in parts of North Wales, the Midlands and south east England.

Lindsay Dovey, a forecaster with MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said temperatures dropped to minus 15.5C in Aviemore, Scotland, this morning.

'There has been a band of snow that is stretching from North Wales right across to the far south east of England, pivoting northwards over London.

'It is going to be around for a while, probably for most of the day, but will hopefully die out tonight when conditions are going to improve.'


Departure boards at Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 tell a tale of misery for travellers hoping to get away


The mercury could plunge to minus 20C in parts of Scotland, she said.
Travel misery also hit the airports. A Heathrow Airport spokesman said: 'Severe disruption is expected today at all London airports.'

Passengers were advised not to go to the airport unless they had a confirmed booking on a new flight.

British Airways has cancelled all flights out of Heathrow despite the runways remaining open.

A spokeswoman for the airline said: 'The weather at Heathrow now is quite appalling.


Snow has caused heavy disruption at Heathrow which has closed while runways are cleared


'We knew that severe weather conditions were expected, so rather than asking passengers to travel just to have their flight cancelled, we think it's better to tell all our customers that flights are cancelled.

'We need to give our customers some certainty. We would rather they sat at home with all the information needed to rebook their flights rather than sat on the floor on an airport not able to fly or get home.'


Festive shoppers brave the snow in central London, on the final Saturday before Christmas


Belfast City Airport was closed last night while Belfast International Airport resumed flights overnight but said delays and cancellations were expected today.

'Severe weather across the UK may still cause travel problems so if you are due to travel please check with your airline before leaving for the airport for the updated status of your flight.'

Flights from Exeter, London City, Aberdeen and Cardiff were also disrupted.





Beating the freeze: A postman continues his round in the snow near Emsworth, Hampshire


No traffic on the M61 in Lancashire as heavy snow shuts part of the motorway



Aptly named, North Pole Lane in Keston, Kent covered in snow during this mornings warning sunrise


source: dailymail

Posted in: News Update