Airline passengers faced a third day stranded in UK airports last night amid warnings of further flight cancellations and yet more heavy snow.
Hundreds of passengers have been camping out at terminals around the country after planes were grounded by some of the most severe winter weather in a century.
Heathrow was one of a number of major airports to warn of further disruption in the run-up to Christmas.
A spokesman said: “There will be further cancellations and delays tomorrow (today) as we continue to clear snow and ice, as well as in the days that follow as airlines move diverted aircraft and crew back to their normal positions.”
Although Gatwick’s runway reopened yesterday, the weather’s impact on airline operations across Europe left passengers facing more delays and cancellations.
The situation was similar at other airports whose runways had had to close yesterday.
Though airports said they were doing their utmost to deal with the conditions, passengers were unforgiving.
Trevor Taylor, 37, who waited with his wife and two young sons for a flight to Singapore for two days, said there was “absolute mayhem” at Heathrow’s Terminal 5.
“There are kids that haven’t been fed, there are elderly people in wheelchairs getting cold. It’s ‘everyone fend for yourself’,” he said.
Though passengers were advised to leave the airport if their flight was cancelled, treacherous conditions on the roads and fully booked hotels meant some felt they had no option but to stay at airports.
And while some tried to book themselves on to new flights, many found those were cancelled too.
Others were running out of money, craving hot meals and reported lengthy queues for toilets and plug sockets.
Elizabeth Herridge said she was told her KLM flight from Heathrow to Amsterdam was going ahead as expected this morning but was turned away from Terminal 4 when she arrived.
Meanwhile, last night the country was braced for more disruption and another blast of blizzards in the run-up to Christmas.
Weather forecasters are expecting parts of Britain to see snowfalls of up to 20 centimetres today and continued sub-zero temperatures. Motoring organisations warned of “potentially fatal” conditions on the roads as commuters struggle back to work.
Met Office forecaster Helen Chivers said snow is expected to strike the south west today, before moving up towards London and the Midlands. It is likely to settle in many places as temperatures remain low.
Overnight, the mercury was expected to plunge to around minus 20C in parts of the Midlands, north west England and Scotland, possibly dropping even further on Tuesday night with the winter solstice - the point at which the Earth is furthest from the sun.