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Heathrow airport: 100-plus flights cancelled for Saturday

British Airways passengers offered chance to postpone journeys

Simon Calder
Travel Correspondent
Friday 16 March 2018 20:38 GMT
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Heathrow Airport cancels 100-plus flights due to snow

More than 100 Saturday flights to and from Heathrow have been cancelled ahead of predicted bad weather.

The Met Office has issued an amber warning for snow and ice in parts of England ahead of another cold front from the east.

Transatlantic New York and Chicago are among 86 flights grounded by British Airways. Multiple domestic flights to Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester have been cancelled, as well as services to Amsterdam, Dublin, Geneva and Paris.

A spokesperson for BA said: “Due to wintry weather and restrictions at some airports we fly to and from, we have merged a small number of our Heathrow flights to ensure that the vast majority of our customers are able to travel to their destinations as planned.

“We’re sorry that some of our services will be delayed, as many aircraft will have to receive de-icing treatment before departure to ensure that they are safe to take-off.”

BA says any passengers booked to fly to or from London this weekend and who want to avoid uncertainty can postpone to fly on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday free of charge, even if their flight is shown as operating normally.

Aer Lingus has cancelled four flights to and from Dublin, and a round-trip from Cork. Lufthansa and its budget subsidiary, Eurowings, have cancelled 10 flights, including services to Frankfurt, Munich and Salzburg.

Air France and its partner KLM have each grounded two round-trips from their hubs at Paris and Amsterdam. TAP Portugal to Lisbon, SAS to Oslo and Swiss to Zurich are also affected.

So far 118 flights have been cancelled, representing around 15,000 passengers – and about 10 per cent of the schedule at Heathrow.

A spokesperson for Heathrow, which is the busiest airport in Europe, said: “While this weekend’s weather may result in minor delays and some airlines consolidating flights, significant disruption at Heathrow is not currently expected.

“We are working closely with our on-site Met Office to monitor the further snowfall expected throughout the weekend.

UK weather: The latest Met Office forecast

“As always, we advise passengers to check their flight status with their airline before coming to the airport.”

London City has seen long delays and cancellations, with an inbound flight from Edinburgh diverted to Southend.

Other airports are not significantly affected so far, though Gatwick, Leeds Bradford, East Midlands and Manchester may face problems later.

No cancellations have been made for Sunday, but some short-haul flights serving Heathrow may be pro-actively grounded. Passengers on affected departures are likely to be contacted later on Saturday and offered re-booking options.

Passengers whose flights are cancelled cannot claim cash compensation, but the airline must provide meals, and if necessary accommodation, until the journey can be completed

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