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Travel chaos at Heathrow
24/12/2007 17:14 - (SA)
London - Dozens of flights were cancelled
on Monday as the weekend fog continued to cause travel chaos for
hundreds of passengers.
Heathrow Airport said 30 departures were grounded as a
knock-on effect of the weekend disruption, while a handful of
flights were hit at Gatwick.
The bulk of the affected journeys are British Airways
short-haul flights. Stranded passengers said their holiday plans
had been thrown into disarray.
"Maybe next year I'll tell my family we'll have a white
Christmas in Canada because this Christmas is looking grey," one
North American passenger told the BBC at a cloudy Heathrow.
On Saturday and Sunday, thick fog forced the cancellation of
hundreds of flights during the Christmas getaway.
Up to 1 000 stranded passengers were forced to spend the
night at Heathrow on Sunday waiting for alternative flights,
while others slept in nearby hotels.
Airports in Scotland were returning to normal after 25
planes were grounded during the weekend, with only a few flights
cancelled on Monday at Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Airport authorities urged travellers to check the BAA or
airline websites before their journey.
More than 200 rail passengers were stranded in Scotland
after their sleeper train hit debris on the track south of
Carstairs, 25 miles southeast of Glasgow.
No one was hurt in the collision. Buses took the passengers
on the London-Scotland train on to their destinations.
Forecasters offered some hope on Monday, saying the fog
should be replaced by warmer and wetter weather.
"Bands of rain are likely to push south east across the UK,
bringing places in the south and east a damp and grey rather
than white Christmas Day," the Met Office said on its website.
"Brighter skies and some showers will follow from the
north."
- Reuters
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