2-Dec-2010 10:29 AM
European airports further disrupted by snow
European airports were forced to delay and cancel services again on 01-Dec-2010 due to snow (Associated Press/Bloomberg//Dow Jones, 01-Dec-2010/Bloomberg, 02-Dec-2010):
- UK/Ireland:
- Belfast City Airport: operating with minimal disruptions;
- Belfast International Airport: operating with minimal disruptions;
- Dublin Airport: temporarily suspended flights twice during the day while snow was cleared from the main runway (BreakingNews.ie, 01-Dec-2010). The airport reopened in the evening on 01-Dec-2010 (BBC News, 01-Dec-2010);
- Edinburgh Airport: closed until 06:00 on 02-Dec-2010;
- Glasgow Prestwick Airport: announced (01-Dec-2010) it has handled a number of diverted flights in the past 24 hours after other Scottish airports were forced to close because of snow and ice. The airport has been unaffected by the severe weather conditions; [more]
- Guernsey Airport: was closed overnight on 30-Dec-2010 and was expected to reopen at 11:00 on 02-Dec-2010 (UK-Airport-News.info, 01-Dec-2010);
- Leeds Bradford Airport: closed for the day;
- London City Airport: was closed for most of the day and is expected to remain closed until at least 06:30 on 02-Dec-2010. British Airways cancelled services to New York;
- London Gatwick Airport: to remain closed until at 10:00 on 03-Dec-2010. The airport had a snowfall of 15cm during the day, resulting in the cancellation of 600 flights. Flights were being diverted to London Luton Airport (UK-Airport-News.info, 01-Dec-2010).
- Thomas Cook CEO Manny Fontenla-Novoa criticised the airport for being closed calling on airport owners to "get their act together" (telegraph.co.uk, 01-Dec-2010).
- Monarch Airlines announced (01-Dec-2010) all services at its London Gatwick base are subject to disruption due to ongoing snowfalls; [more]
- Olympic Air announced (01-Dec-2010) its Thessaloniki-London Gatwick service was cancelled. [more];
- Manchester Airport: announced (01-Dec-2010) it is open and operating normally, stating that although forecasts show some snow flurries over night, it does not expect any significant disruption; [more]
- West Airport Knock: announced (01-Dec-2010) Aer Lingus cancelled services to/from London Gatwick; [more]
- Continental Europe:
- Basel-Mulhouse Airport: closed until at least 19:30 on 01-Dec-2010;
- Bern Airport: closed until 20:00 on 01-Dec-2010;
- Brussels Airport: EUROCONTROL reported severe delays;
- Chambery Airport: closed for the day;
- Frankfurt Airport: Fraport AG stated the airport's main runway was closed due to strong tailwinds. 60 flights were cancelled over the day. Lufthansa criticised Fraport's "mismanagement" of de-icing and ground-handling capacities for causing further delays;
- Geneva Airport: to remain closed until at least 06:00 on 02-Dec-2010. Up to 30cm of snow was expected to fall at the airport for the day;
- Grenoble Airport: closed for the day;
- Lyon Saint-Exupery Airport: closed to arrivals, with incoming services diverted to Marseille Airport due to low visibility. 116 flights were cancelled;
- Paris Charles de Gaulle and Paris Orly airports: operated as normal. Direction Generale de l'Aviation Civile (DCAG) requested airlines cancel 25% of flights to/from CDG and 10% to/from Orly due to snow forecasts;
- Munich Airport: EUROCONTROL reported severe delays. The airport cancelled some 250 flights in the afternoon (Deutsche Welle, 01-Dec-2010);
- Vienna Airport: EUROCONTROL reported severe delays;
- Zurich Airport: reported delays and cancellations;
- Eastern Europe:
- Budapest Ferihegy Airport: announced (01-Dec-2010) it remains operational, but a number of services are being delayed due to mandatory de-icing procedures; [more]
- Prague Airport: EUROCONTROL reported severe delays;
Thomas Cook: "It's embarrassing. It's winter, we've got snow. Airports should be investing in their property and people. Its causing us and our passengers disruption," Manny Fontenla-Novoa, CEO. Source: telegraph.co.uk, 01-Dec-2010.