Icy threat as working week begins

Feb 6 2012

Forecasters have warned of icy conditions as many Britons head back to work after a weekend of snow.

The Met Office has issued nine severe weather alerts, warning ice could be a hazard on roads and pavements across much of England and south-east Wales.

Travellers expressed disbelief as Heathrow Airport axed half of all flights on Sunday night amid forecasts of dry weather following a nationwide blanket of snow. But the airport, which had 6cm of snow, hoped to resume normal service later on Monday.

A spokeswoman said: "We are expecting everything to operate as our normal schedule. There may be some cancellations and reshuffling as a result of yesterday's disruption."

Issuing yellow alerts, which urge people to "be aware", the Met Office warned of "risk of disruption to travel". The decision to ground planes at Heathrow for the second day running came as wintry showers ceased across the country.

On Saturday night up to 16cm of snow had swathed much of the country in a carpet of white, creating treacherous driving conditions and disrupting rail - as well as road and air - travel, while thousands of Britons ventured outside to enjoy the picturesque scenes.

But as the snow melted and the runways, taxiways and stands at Heathrow were cleared of snow, only 50% of the 1,300 scheduled flights went ahead on Sunday. A spokesman for Heathrow said the move was designed to minimise disruption as staff worked to clear a backlog of flights in the face of possible freezing fog.

Philippa Britton, from Kendal, Cumbria, said fellow travellers were amazed by Heathrow's decision. Ms Britton - who was transiting through London on a trip from Hong Kong to Manchester - said: "On the flight into London lots of people were astonished that so many flights had been cancelled."

Transport Secretary Justine Greening defended the airport's cancellation strategy and said bosses had taken the "right approach". "They are clearly trying to manage the airport and I think the most important thing is making sure that we put safety first," she told the BBC Sunday Politics programme.

Billy Payne, forecaster with MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said the worst of the weather was over, although ice had formed overnight and there was a risk of freezing fog.