21 December 2010 Last updated at 06:33Share this page
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Weather chaos continues as thaw remains days away
BAA said it will investigate how Heathrow handled the extreme winter weather
The winter weather is continuing to cause problems across the UK, as a thaw seems unlikely for several days.
Gatwick Airport re-opened at 0600 GMT after closing overnight - with 150 staff working to clear its runways.
Heathrow Airport officials said no more than a third of all flights would operate until 0600 GMT on Wednesday.
Forecasters have predicted there will be no let-up in the freezing conditions until Boxing Day - with ongoing delays on the roads and railways.
Airport operator BAA said Heathrow's south runway would remain closed on Tuesday.
It advised people not to travel to the airport unless their airline had confirmed the booking.
It also warned passengers to expect delays and cancellations, possibly up to Christmas Day.
The government has agreed to relax regulations on night flights at Heathrow, allowing for arrivals until 0100 GMT each day until Christmas, while flights into London will be allowed to operate 24 hours a day.
BAA chief executive Colin Matthews has promised a thorough investigation into how Heathrow handled the freezing weather.
Martine Gurbhoo sent this photo in of passengers stranded in a Gatwick terminal
"When we have got every passenger and every bag where they want to be, we will crawl all over this incident to find out everything that we should learn from it," he told Channel 4 News.
"If we need to spend money on new equipment, we will do so."
In other delays:
- Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Birmingham, Luton, London City, Bristol, Cardiff and Southampton airports all said flights would be subject to delays and cancellations
- Exeter said it hoped departures on Tuesday would run as scheduled.
- Stansted is said to be operating as normal.
Martine Gurbhoo is at Gatwick Airport, having supposed to have flown to Paphos on 19 December.
She told the BBC she and her husband had moved to the ticket hall "as we have been told to get out of the main departure lounge, otherwise we will get escorted by the police".
And Damian McCarthy of Harpenden had to return home after spending most of the day at Gatwick with a five-year-old child.
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He said other passengers were "very angry, with many refusing to leave the terminal building."
People at St Pancras station queued for up to eight hours on Monday for Eurostar services to the continent, which was also suffering from severe weather. The BBC's Andy Moore said that, according to the station's manager, everyone who queued for a place on Monday got on a Eurostar train to Europe.
And about 100 people queued overnight, but they were passengers who were early for trains on Tuesday morning.
Continue reading the main storyWEATHER AND TRAVEL INFO
- Get the latest on travel problems and school closures via your local website
- Check if snow is forecast in your area at BBC Weather
- Details of motorway and local road closures and public transport disruption are available at BBC Travel News
- For advice on handling difficult driving conditions, see the Highways Agency website
- For information about severe weather warnings, see the Met Office website
- For information about staying healthy in the cold weather, see the NHS Winter Health website
Eurostar is still urging people to only come to the station if they have a confirmed booking for travel on Tuesday.
Overnight, the weather remained bitterly cold and Tuesday will start off very icy with temperatures well below freezing, say forecasters.
Parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland are likely to have seen the coldest temperatures overnight, dropping to -17C in Omagh.
Sub-zero temperatures will persist across almost the whole country.
The Foreign Office has updated its travel advice for France, warning of disruption to road, rail and air travel in the country.
The Highways Agency said it was doing its best to keep major roads in England clear, but advised motorists to check traffic and weather conditions before deciding whether to head out.
Main European airports and travel disruption
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Monday 20 December 2010
BBC News - Weather chaos continues as thaw remains days away
via bbc.co.uk
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