Winter weather hits air travel: Europe

16 January 2013

16 Jan 2013 British Airways has warned that snow and icy conditions are forecast to continue across the UK over this week, particularly in the north and east.

Freezing temperatures in parts of the country caused delays to flights and there is the potential that some further flights may be affected

As such, the airline recommends that customers check the status of their flights before proceeding to the airport and leave plenty of time to travel.

In a separate statement the airline urged passengers to provide the airline with their contact details to inform them of any interruptions as soon as possible.  For more details click here.

KLM yesterday (January 15) saw some flight cancellations and delays due to snow showers that led to reduced runway capacity.

Passengers scheduled to travel to, from or via Amsterdam Airport Schiphol on the day can either change their travel dates or change their destination. For more details visit http://www.klm.com/travel/za_en/index.htm

Air France advised of heavy snowfalls at Lyon St Exupery airport on Tuesday, leading to disruption to its operations to and from the airport. Passengers scheduled to travel on January 15 to or from Lyon can postpone their travel until January 22 and modify their tickets free of charge. Passengers may also claim a refund on their ticket if their flight is delayed for more than five hours or if their flight was cancelled.

In Japan normal flight operations resumed yesterday at Tokyo's Narita International Airport after 3,400 travellers spent the previous night in the terminal after snow caused airlines to cancel 71 flights. In the first snowfall of the season, about eight centimetres fell in central Tokyo and around Narita on Monday - a national holiday in Japan – snarling up traffic and causing train delays. Airport officials distributed sleeping bags, water and crackers to stranded travellers. Normal flight operations at Narita resumed on Tuesday, except for a few delays. Major train operator, JR East, said trains were running on schedule Tuesday. Sections of several highways around Tokyo were still closed on Tuesday as workers cleared away snow and ice.

Lufthansa has urged passengers to give the airline their mobile number and email address up to 23 hours before their scheduled departure to enable it to contact passengers in advance should flight operations be disrupted due to weather conditions.

Meanwhile, the UK MET office has said that wintry showers may reach English Channel coasts today (January 16) but are most likely across Kent. Otherwise the weather will be dry, with long sunny spells for most places. Maximum temperatures are only expected to rise to 4°C and the cold spell is expected to last until Friday.