Tens of thousands of travellers stranded by first big winter storm

British Airways cancels 24 long-haul departures from Heathrow

Snow caused long tailbacks on the M25, while hundreds of flights across the UK have been cancelled (PA)

Tens of thousands of travellers are beginning the working week far from where they planned to be. The first snowstorm of winter triggered the cancellation of hundreds of flights and brought roads and railways to a halt in many parts of England and Wales.

While the snow was worst in parts of Wales and the Midlands, the biggest effect was felt in south-east England – and in particular at Heathrow airport, the busiest in Europe.

Although Heathrow remained open throughout the day, around 150 inbound and outbound flights were cancelled – partly because of a reduction in the arrivals rate stipulated by air-traffic controllers, and partly due to delays in de-icing.

British Airways (BA) was worst affected, with 24 long-haul departures cancelled as well as dozens of short-haul flights. While efforts are always made to try to protect intercontinental flights, time after time crew went “out of hours”. Three New York services were cancelled as well as two each to Dubai and Toronto, with many Asian flights also cancelled.

A BA spokesperson told The Independent: “We’re very sorry that some of our customers’ travel plans have been affected by severe adverse weather conditions. Heavy rain overnight and snowfall this morning, combined with a reduction in the number of flights able to land at Heathrow, have caused disruption to our flight schedule. Like other airlines, we are experiencing some delays and cancellations.”

Red alert: cancellations of some of Sunday’s flights on British Airways (BA) (British Airways)

With around 20,000 passengers cancelled today, and the possibility of further disruption, the airline is offering passengers booked to fly on Monday the option to re-book on alternative flights up to Monday 18 December, free of charge.

Other airlines including Aer Lingus, Lufthansa, Brussels Airlines and Swiss cancelled services from their hubs to Heathrow and back. Flybe’s domestic services were also hit.

A Heathrow spokesperson said: “Heathrow airport remains open however we regret that weather across the UK is resulting in some passengers experiencing disruption to their travel arrangements. Airlines are responsible for ensuring their flights are fully de-iced before they are operated and this is resulting in some delays and cancellations.”

At Stansted, around 50 flights were cancelled because the runway was closed for much of the morning. Passengers on Ryanair were worst affected, but at least 10 easyJet flights were also cancelled.

The unluckiest passengers were around 300 people aboard a TUI Airways flight from Barbados to Birmingham that was due to land at around 4am on Sunday. The departure from the Caribbean was delayed by two hours, and by the time the plane approached Birmingham snow had started to fall and the runway was closed. The aircraft and passengers ended up at Gatwick.

East Midlands and Luton airports were also closed for part of the day.

The fragile state of Britain’s infrastructure was emphasised by the fact that many passengers on cancelled flights from Heathrow and Stansted might not have reached the airport anyway due to severe disruption on London’s Piccadilly Line and the Stansted Express.

The first day for two brand-new rail franchises turned out to be a shambles. West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway, which took over from London Midland at 2am on Sunday morning, issued a joint statement saying: “Do not travel”.

A spokesperson for the two operators said: “While we have done all we can to prepare our trains, stations and depots, road access is proving the biggest challenge of all.

“Our main priorities are to run what services we can safely and make preparations to protect the start of commuter services on Monday morning.”

Chiltern Railway services to and from Stratford-upon-Avon and Amersham were cancelled, with delays of up to an hour on the main London Marylebone-Birmingham Snow Hill line.

A train travels along snow covered tracks in High Wycombe (EPA)

CrossCountry passengers battled with a previously announced strike as well as a landslide between Birmingham and Bristol.

The busiest sea link to and from Britain, Dover-Calais, was temporarily closed after a P&O ferry ran aground when leaving the French port. No injuries were reported aboard the Pride of Kent, which was refloated after two hours.

With a frost forecast for large parts of Britain for Monday, travellers face further problems. Trains at the start of the working week will be busier than usual with passengers who postponed their journeys on Sunday.