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Snow, Cold Disrupt European Travel as Airlines Cancel Flights

01.10.2010

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Jan. 10 -- Cold weather and snow snarled transport in many parts of Western Europe as airlines in the U.K., France and Germany canceled flights and trains were cut back.

Eurostar Group Ltd., which shut for three days in December after melting snow shorted electric systems, said 13 trains will run in each direction instead of the usual Sunday service of 25 from the continent to London and 23 from London to Paris or Brussels.

The reduced schedule is expected to continue tomorrow with Eurostar planning 15 trains to London instead of 26, and 15 to the continent instead of 27.

EasyJet Plc said it canceled at least 90 flights today due to “severe weather disruption” across Europe. Services from Geneva, Krakow, Lyon, and London’s Gatwick airport are among the worst affected points of departure, according to a statement on the airline’s Web site.

Gatwick and Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport, said on their Web sites that they are open with staff working to keep runways clear. They both said passengers should check with their airline before traveling to the airport.

Temperatures will remain below freezing throughout the weekend, Britain’s Met Office said, with more snow expected today in England and Wales, spreading to Scotland and Northern Ireland this evening.

Cancellations in France

In France, Lyon’s airport shut last night because of snow, and television station LCI showed footage of 800 passengers forced to spend the night in the departures terminal. The airport, France’s fourth-busiest, reopened today though 50 flights have been canceled.

Toulouse’s airport, which was shut yesterday, is open today with a reduced schedule, said spokesman Marc Dupeyron.

France’s civil aviation authority last night lifted its request that airlines cancel a quarter of their flights from Charles de Gaulle airport outside Paris, the country’s busiest.

Meteo France, the national weather forecaster, is forecasting below freezing temperatures for the next few days with heavy snow today in Brittany and the Alps. While the country’s highway network is open, the agency that runs them warned of slow travel in Alpine areas because of snow.

The national French electrical grid maintained its request that households in the western region of Brittany moderate their electricity use. The region produces only 8 percent of its power needs.

Train Delays

A total of 63 flights have been canceled at Frankfurt’s airport since midnight, out of a total planned 1,180 flights today, said duty officer Heinz Fass. Runways have been cleared after about 3 centimeters of snow fell overnight, and no snow is forecast in the next 24 hours, he said.

Airports in Munich and Hamburg are operating normally, with some flights to and from London canceled, duty officers at the airports said.

Trains in Germany are running an average of 2 hours late because of snow, Deutsche Bahn said on its hotline. In the Baltic state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, eight routes have been shut because of meter-high snow drifts.

Spain’s national weather agency is forecasting snow throughout the country later today. Airports were operating normally.

Daytime temperatures were above freezing in northern Italy, after snow earlier in the week. Switzerland’s San Gotthard tunnel, a major link between Italy and northern Europe, reopened yesterday after being shut the day before.