Afternoon:
15°c
Gatwick and Luton close with more than 500 flights cancelled
Kiran Randhawa and Benedict Moore-Bridger6 Jan 2010
Thousands struggle into work as latest Arctic blast paralyses roads, rail and airports
Airports
Gatwick was set to remain closed throughout the day as snow continued to block runways.
By lunchtime more than 240 flights had been cancelled. At Stansted, 28 were scrapped and more delayed after it closed for two hours this morning.
Both Gatwick and Luton closed overnight, leaving stranded passengers sleeping on terminal floors. Budget airline easyJet cancelled 250 flights.
Forecasters predicted further snow showers in the South-East over the next few days that could cause more airport disruption. A Gatwick spokeswoman said: “The snow hasn't stopped falling and heavier showers are predicted later. We've been told to expect bad weather for the next few days.”
A spokesman for Stansted said: “We're expecting wintry weather for the rest of the week so may need to close again.
“Passengers travelling with lowcost airlines may have more delays as they operate tighter schedules and are more affected by crews and aircraft out of place across their networks.”
Rail
The three busiest rail operators, Southeastern, Southern and South West Trains, all reported severe delays and cancellations today.
South West Trains, which operates out of the capital to the worst hit counties of Surrey, Hampshire and Dorset, was running a restricted service and Southeastern had half-hourly or hourly trains from most of its mainline and metro stations, with its capacity reduced by 30 per cent.
Southern was also running a revised timetable after a number of services were cancelled from London to stations including Purley, Redhill, Epsom, Dorking, East Grinstead and Horsham. It warned of cancellations tonight from London to Brighton. First Great Western was operating a severely reduced service in both directions.
Roads
Grit supplies running out as major routes remain blocked
Supplies of road grit were running low across London suburbs and the South-East today as snow continued to fall. Harrow council said only 560 tonnes remained — enough for fewer than four days of heavy spreading.
Hampshire was one of the worst affected counties, while Berkshire only has enough grit left to cover main roads one more time.
Motoring organisation Trafficmaster said today the A3(M) was closed between Junction 2 and the A820, and at the A27 junction. It was cleared at Petersfield, Hampshire, at 6.30am.
But last night 1,000 vehicles became stranded in a 10-mile jam that saw the Army called in to take motorists to rescue centres. Many spent the night in their cars.
Today there was slow traffic on the M27 in Hampshire between Junctions 4 and 12, and a broken-down vehicle at Junction 8. Police advise M20 motorists to drive with caution.
In Sussex, the A28 northbound at Westfield near Hastings was blocked by snow, and the A265 was held up by an accident. The A23 at Brighton was blocked by a broken-down lorry, while the A2100 was closed by snow and ice.
The A269 was blocked in both directions at Ninfield by fallen trees.
Reader views (3)
so we do nothing neil and continue to rape this planet tearing down rainforests polluting the planet with millions of airoplane flights every year.millions of cars spewing out poison every day no policy on population growth the worlds weather is changing we ignore global warming at our peril
- C May, biggin hill, 06/01/2010 21:20
Report abuse
Neil, I can certainly see your point, a bit of snow surely disproves global warming beyond question, in the same way that a single air crash proves beyond doubt that it is incredibly dangerous to fly and you will die if you set foot on a plane. Now do you want to tell all those scientists that they have wasted years of research, or shall I?
- Nj, London (and happily to be part of the EU), 06/01/2010 16:46
Report abuse
Anthropogenic global warming is a busted flush, so let's hear no more about it thanks.
- Neil, People'S Republic Of Europe (Formerly England), London UK, 06/01/2010 15:15
Report abuse
