UK weather: Planes and trains cancelled ahead of worsening winter conditions

Thomas Cook flight from Lanzarote to Manchester was delayed by 27 hours

Dozens of flights have already been cancelled for Tuesday as airlines prepare for worsening winter weather.

British Airways has grounded more than 60 domestic and European flights to and from Heathrow, including three round trips to Edinburgh, Berlin and Milan.

Multiple flights to and from Aberdeen, Glasgow, Manchester, Dublin, Frankfurt and Geneva have also been cancelled.

The airline started notifying passengers at around 4pm, and switching them to other flights. It is seeking proactively to thin out its schedules in order to protect other services, particularly the long-haul network from Heathrow.

BA passengers on short-haul and domestic flights to or from Heathrow or Gatwick up to Friday 2 March are able to reschedule for travel up to 21 March.

A snowfall in Rome severely affected flights to and from the city’s Fiumicino and Ciampino airports. No flights operated at the latter airport, used by budget airlines, until 11am local time on Monday.

Ryanair cancelled almost 50 flights to and from the Italian capital, including two round trips to Stansted and one to Manchester.

Weather disruption was also felt by airline passengers from Stockholm to Lanzarote. Heavy snow in the Swedish capital closed Arlanda airport for a time, while strong winds at Lanzarote led to diversions, cancellations and delays. One Thomas Cook flight to Manchester was delayed by 27 hours.

Rail passengers across southern and eastern England face widespread disruption, with many trains cancelled and speed restrictions affecting services that are running.

The worst affected area is north and east of London. Great Northern has already cancelled its express trains between King’s Cross and Cambridge on Tuesday, and has warned of an early close-down of services north of Royston.

Greater Anglia, which runs to Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk from London Liverpool Street, is planning only a limited service from 6am to 10pm on Tuesday. The lines from Norwich to Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft and Sheringham will be closed, along with links from Ipswich to Felixstowe and Lowestoft. No replacement buses will run.

A number of through trains from London Liverpool Street to destinations such as Harwich and Clacton will be cancelled. Airline passengers using Stansted airport will also be affected, as the Stansted Express will be starting later on Tuesday morning.

Some passengers have accused Greater Anglia of excessive caution. Neil Dick from Billericay asked in a tweet: “Are you just overreacting like you did a couple of years ago and cancelling everything ‘just in case’?”

The train operator responded: “If the weather is not as extreme as forecast, Greater Anglia and Network Rail will work hard to reinstate services and reopen lines as soon as possible.”

South Western Railway says disruption “can be expected until at least Thursday 1 March” on routes to and from London Waterloo. It is running special trains to treat tracks and prevent the build-up of ice on the third rail, which provides power to trains in the region.