Wee Bit Of Snow ...Sorry..Fyi

[Rinrada]

Heavy snow and ice bring travel chaos across

Christmas travellers are facing severe disruption as heavy snow falls across many parts of the UK.

Airport closures have hit thousands of passengers. Heathrow will stay shut until Sunday, while Gatwick has re-opened but many flights are cancelled.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12025538

[WilliaminBKK]

My Brother arrived in LHR today and was told by BMI his flight to DUB wouldn't happen until Monday at the earliest. BTW every hotel is packed no rooms to be had at all.

[spongeman]

My Brother arrived in LHR today and was told by BMI his flight to DUB wouldn't happen until Monday at the earliest. BTW every hotel is packed no rooms to be had at all.

I do not envy him at all, its chaos over here. The UK has been hit very hard indeed.

[LuckyLew]

Yes the one inch of snow they received is a massive amount

It is no wonder the UK is closed

Good thing the UK is not in the middle of Canada

[CharlieH]

Yes the one inch of snow they received is a massive amount

It is no wonder the UK is closed

Good thing the UK is not in the middle of Canada

What a stupid sacastic waste of time !

If the UK was like Canada and USED TO HAVING SNOW they would be geared up for it, but as it is quite a rare occurence is why they are not and it usually passes in just a few days...........gees...some people

[Ricardo]

Perhaps they should huddle-together, in the terminals, to keep one another warm ?

[kevc]

A friends just emailed me from Heathrow said not a bit of snows came down but their delayed because they can't taxi in the pilot from Birmingham.

[spongeman]

Heathrow not accepting arrivals today.

Other smaller airports open with big delays.(BBC)

[geriatrickid]

Yes the one inch of snow they received is a massive amount

It is no wonder the UK is closed

Good thing the UK is not in the middle of Canada

Right. Try flying out of Pearson on a snow day. I flew in to Toronto with a transfer to the USA on the day of the big Christmas snow storm a few years ago, Air canada baggage handlers didn't show up for work and luggage was delayed for days.

Vancouver only has 2 runways and when it gets snow, it only has enough equipment to keep one runway open which results in delays and cancelations.

There are only 2 airports in Canada capable of operating all services in heavy snow conditions; Trudeau International/Dorval and Calgary.

[spongeman]

My Brother arrived in LHR today and was told by BMI his flight to DUB wouldn't happen until Monday at the earliest. BTW every hotel is packed no rooms to be had at all.

Belfast is open, which is another option.

Looking on SKY at loads of people sleeping on the floor in Heathrow - scary in this Weather

[sundaypsychos]

is there any indication of when heathrow will reopen? im due to arrive at heathrow on wednesday morning with etihad airways and the sight of all this snow is starting to get me a little concerned! is there yet more snow to hit south east england?!

[lomatopo]

is there any indication of when heathrow will reopen? im due to arrive at heathrow on wednesday morning with etihad airways and the sight of all this snow is starting to get me a little concerned! is there yet more snow to hit south east england?!

From http://www.heathrowairport.com/

Heathrow Airport update

Heathrow Airport will not be accepting arrivals on Sunday, and will only manage a handful of departures as our airfield team continues to deal with the impacts of yesterday's bad weather and prepares the airport for a full re-opening on Monday.

No flights will operate from Terminals 1 or 4 and a limited number of departures will leave from Terminals 3 and 5. We are extremely sorry for the disruption this will cause to passengers and airlines and we stress that passengers must check with their airlines before travelling to the airport. We will provide regular updates and you can contact your airline here.

This morning, we listened carefully to the advice of our airside operations team and reluctantly judged that while Heathrow's northern runway remains clear, the change in temperature overnight led to a significant build up of ice on parking stands around the planes and this requires the airfield to remain closed until it is safe to move planes around.

We have 200 aircraft parking stands and have a team of several hundred people working to treat these airside areas and to keep passengers in the terminal as warm and as comfortable as possible while we do everything we can to get Heathrow moving.

We are removing 30 tonnes of snow from each stand, but the temperature remains firmly below zero and Heathrow's capacity is limited to the extent that all parking stands are occupied by aircraft, making the job of clearing and treating them more difficult.

Safety is our first priority and we hope this course of action will allow us to offer a fuller service to passengers and airlines using Heathrow tomorrow.

Good luck to all who are traveling. Let's hope the temps at least get above 0. While this amount of snow isn't much for some locales I doubt LHR has much snow removal equipment, and little de-icing capability so it will be much more challenging for them. Hopefully everyone will get home safely in time for the holidays.

[smokie36]

is there any indication of when heathrow will reopen? im due to arrive at heathrow on wednesday morning with etihad airways and the sight of all this snow is starting to get me a little concerned! is there yet more snow to hit south east england?!

Forecast is for more snow Monday and Tuesday less so Wednesday but still with temp dropping to =5C or so.....expected to impove on Thursday....well a little anyway.

[WilliaminBKK]

My Brother arrived in LHR today and was told by BMI his flight to DUB wouldn't happen until Monday at the earliest. BTW every hotel is packed no rooms to be had at all.

I do not envy him at all, its chaos over here. The UK has been hit very hard indeed.

He was just informed by BMI that he wont fly until Tuesday at the earliest, what an ordeal.

Paid 149 pounds Saturday night, another 169 for Sunday and guess what they rate for Monday is 199, some convention is coming to town----ya right the week before Xmas.

[smokie36]

My Brother arrived in LHR today and was told by BMI his flight to DUB wouldn't happen until Monday at the earliest. BTW every hotel is packed no rooms to be had at all.

I do not envy him at all, its chaos over here. The UK has been hit very hard indeed.

He was just informed by BMI that he wont fly until Tuesday at the earliest, what an ordeal.

Paid 149 pounds Saturday night, another 169 for Sunday and guess what they rate for Monday is 199, some convention is coming to town----ya right the week before Xmas.

Ridiculous. Here you go.....My link

[spongeman]

My Brother arrived in LHR today and was told by BMI his flight to DUB wouldn't happen until Monday at the earliest. BTW every hotel is packed no rooms to be had at all.

I do not envy him at all, its chaos over here. The UK has been hit very hard indeed.

He was just informed by BMI that he wont fly until Tuesday at the earliest, what an ordeal.

Paid 149 pounds Saturday night, another 169 for Sunday and guess what they rate for Monday is 199, some convention is coming to town----ya right the week before Xmas.

Bast**d hotels.

[glegolo]

Oh!! Big deal brothers....... Snow has been fallen now for months over Europe

and this is NOT Thailand related at all. Snow in England and America is not interested att all for the rest of us.

Case closed..

Glegolo

[theoldgit]

Oh!! Big deal brothers....... Snow has been fallen now for months over Europe

and this is NOT Thailand related at all. Snow in England and America is not interested att all for the rest of us.

Case closed..

Glegolo

So why are you bothering to read it then?

It's actually of great interest to many people in Thailand, those who are hoping to fly to see loved ones over the Christmas and New Year holidays or those who have people visiting from effected countries.

Edit for typo

Edited December 20, 2010 by theoldgit

[roamer]

looking pretty bleak at present (Monday). Flights are starting to move but huge backlog, overnight temps were -10C in London, -14C Heathrow, coldest for 20 years so a lot of planes iced in place. Currently terminals so full of delayed passengers people queuing outside at zero or lower. Low temps tonight and more snow expected for Wednesday means arrivals or departures looking pretty grim. Best of luck to all those trying to make it.

[smokie36]

looking pretty bleak at present (Monday). Flights are starting to move but huge backlog, overnight temps were -10C in London, -14C Heathrow, coldest for 20 years so a lot of planes iced in place. Currently terminals so full of delayed passengers people queuing outside at zero or lower. Low temps tonight and more snow expected for Wednesday means arrivals or departures looking pretty grim. Best of luck to all those trying to make it.

Latest info on Heathrow is only one runway open tomorrow. Most flights delayed until Wednesday with large queues outside Terminal 3. Don't go there unless you have a positive response from your airline!!

[Rinrada]

Oh!! Big deal brothers....... Snow has been fallen now for months over Europe

and this is NOT Thailand related at all. Snow in England and America is not interested att all for the rest of us.

Case closed..

Glegolo

Your cage might be closed old Bean but I certainly know quite a number of Thai and locals who are/were hoping to take the budgies to LOS this week.

Luckily I picked our new T students over a week ago and they are loving it here especially the snow...never seen it before ...but for how long.

Just had a quick looksee at tonights Departure from T 3 and as follows:

Mostly delayed and scheduled so with a bit of luck etc... but glad I will only be going down to the pub.

Also Big Colin who runs BAA (Heathrow Owners) was on TV tonight promising to hire an extra man with a big spade to get rid of all the snow quickly while at the same time Willy W the boss of BA (the airline) was almost threating to whack him one....

bit of info..

21:20 BR068 BANGKOK AND TAIPEI DELAYED 23:45 3

21:35 AY5959 BANGKOK AND SYDNEY DELAYED 23:59 3

21:35 BA009 BANGKOK AND SYDNEY DELAYED 23:59 3

21:35 IB7618 BANGKOK AND SYDNEY DELAYED 23:59 3

21:35 QF302 BANGKOK AND SYDNEY DELAYED 23:59 3

21:35 TG917 BANGKOK CONTACT AIRLINE 3

21:45 QF8102 BANGKOK AND SYDNEY DELAYED 23:25 3

21:45 QF8120 BANGKOK AND SYDNEY CONTACT AIRLINE 3

22:05 BA7318 BANGKOK AND MELBOURNE SCHEDULED 3

22:05 QF030 BANGKOK AND MELBOURNE SCHEDULED 3

Disclaimer

BAA Airports Limited shall have no liability for any loss or damage suffered as a result of relying on flight ...etc..YES typical......Not our fault is-it.

[Puccini]

...

If the UK was like Canada and USED TO HAVING SNOW they would be geared up for it, but as it is quite a rare occurence is why they are not and it usually passes in just a few days...........gees...some people

You are absolutely right. For the airport authority it is cheaper to close the airports for a few days than to have heated runways and sufficient snow clearing equipment. Never mind the inconvenience to passengers and the damage to the economy. This is how great empires fall.

[Puccini]

A friends just emailed me from Heathrow said not a bit of snows came down but their delayed because they can't taxi in the pilot from Birmingham.

Not a bit of snow?

Photographed at London Heathrow airport and posted on Twitter on 19 December 2010.

Source: http://yfrog.com/h7wbtj

[Puccini]

...Also Big Colin who runs BAA (Heathrow Owners) was on TV tonight promising to hire an extra man with a big spade to get rid of all the snow quickly...

That would then make it a total of three men with spades, it would seem.

[Maestro]

What do they call that dashed yeollow line that pilots have to follow when taxiing? The way those two men are shovelling snow it looks like the BAA believes it is doing its duty by clearing just enough snow to make these lines visible.

[phutoie2]

Anyone know if flights are delayed arriving at LHR??

My neighbours wife and two children are flying with Etihad early Thursday morning from Suvarnabhumi.

Listening to BBC radio now, UK Transport minister giving a statement in the house.

At Heathrow yesterday over 66 aircraft waiting for terminal slots, passengers spending several hours on board plane.

[theoldgit]

Anyone know if flights are delayed arriving at LHR??

My neighbours wife and two children are flying with Etihad early Thursday morning from Suvarnabhumi.

Certainly plenty of delays and cancellations and whilst it seems they are trying to catch up a lot can happen in 48 hours, there has been no snow at Heathrow since Saturday though I believe there is more forecast. They would be wise to contact Etihad in Bangkok.

http://www.etihadairways.com/sites/etihad/uk/en/home/Pages/Latest-travel-news.aspx

Of course the way the airlines operate is that if your booked flight operates then you get a seat on it, if people are stuck because their flight has been cancelled then they can get any empty seats, not a lot of those at this time of the year. Some airlines are laying on extra flights, Emirates for example, but of course aircraft and crew are stuck around the world.

[phutoie2]

Thanks for that info. I will also look at the airport website.

My neighbour, young Thai girl with 2 children totally unaware of the situ in Europe has already booked her coach tickets down to Mo Chit, leaving at midnight.

Over the moon too as she has her 6 month UK tourist visa and this morning I have given her a woolen bobble hat and fleece jacket!!

[theoldgit]

This list of flights in and out of Heathrow Airport today maybe of help to those with an interest.

http://www.heathrowairport.com/assets/Internet/Heathrow/Heathrow%20downloads/Static%20files/LHR_Schedule_21DEC.pdf

[SantiSuk]

Does anyone know what airline policy/practice is in such circumstances. If there is a plane available to fly say on Wednesday that was originally fully booked and most of the passengers turn up, do they honour that day's bookings and let the previous days' stranded passengers pick up the scraps of available capacity, or do they transport passengers on a first in first out basis.

Flying (hopefully) to London tomorrow. Would have cancelled my flight and stayed here another couple of weeks, but the Metropolitan Police called me at 3am last night to say my car - a rather nice Jaguar sports car - has been found 'in a precarious position with trade plates on it and under a heap of snow'. Is it damaged? We don't know sir - it's under a heap of snow.

I didn't know it had been stolen (from a Heathrow secure parking company along with 50 other cars) in late November! The thieves also stole the parking company's laptop so they had no records - silly fools obviously backed nothing up. That'll teach me to be a cheap Charlie with my long term car parking. Bang goes the no claims bonus and a £500 Xs I suspect. Happy Xmas everyone

[Easy Parking Colnbrook, if you are getting alarmed]