Heavy snow hits much of England - Air travel affected

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Source - UK News

Heavy snow hits much of England

Heavy snow has fallen across large parts of England, disrupting travel and closing hundreds of schools.

South-east England has the worst snow it has seen for 18 years, causing all London buses to be pulled from service and the closure of Heathrow runways.

Road and rail travel was also badly hit.

The Met Office has issued an extreme weather warning for England, Wales and parts of eastern Scotland. More snow is forecast later and on Tuesday.

Air travel has been badly affected.

London City, Luton and Southampton airports are closed.

Norwich and Leeds Bradford airports have now reopened.

Heathrow Airport has had to shut both runways and says it will take about two hours to reopen.

BAA has warned passengers travelling to and from Heathrow and Stansted airports to expect "significant delays and cancellations".

BA says it has cancelled 65 flights, while 73 Ryanair flights are grounded.

Gatwick is open, although fewer aircraft are able to take off. Some 23 flights had to be cancelled and 18 diverted to other airports after Gatwick closed its runway for two hours on Sunday evening.

There is no service on the Gatwick Express.

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Update 05 Feb 09 -

Due to the continuing severe weather (heavy snow) across much of the UK. A number of airports are closed

The runways at Aberdeen, Luton, East Midlands and Robin Hood International airports have been closed. Birmingham, Cardiff Wales and George Best Belfast City airports have reopened, but flights have been delayed.

At Luton, check-in has been suspended and flights are subject to delay and cancellation. Bristol Airport is open but experiencing delays.

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Update 06 Feb 09

Heavy snow has brought a fifth day of chaos to the UK, with severe weather warnings issued to much of the country.

Road, rail and air transport is again badly affected, while hundreds of schools have again been closed.

The West Country and south Wales were worst-hit overnight. Up to eight inches (20cm) of snow is forecast in places.

The Severn Crossings have been closed after ice began falling onto cars and smashing windscreens, while about 200 people were rescued from cars in Devon.

Chiltern Railways, First Great Western, London Midland, Scotrail, Stansted Express and Virgin Trains are all subject to cancellations and alterations.

Flights at Bristol airport are suspended until 1600 GMT, with 31 cancelled, and nothing will fly in or out of Luton before 1300 GMT.

The runway at Stansted Airport in Essex was closed for an hour on Friday morning to allow snow to be cleared, causing six arrivals to be diverted and knock-on delays.

In Northamptonshire, bus operator Stagecoach recalled all its vehicles to its depot, while Arriva suspended all its services in Hertfordshire.

Airports operator BAA is warning travellers to allow extra time for their journeys to other airports in case of adverse weather.

The Highways Agency is warning against travel across much of south western England.

The main route between north and south Wales - the A470 - is closed just south of Brecon.
More than 3,000 schools have closed across southern England and Wales.