London, February 04: London’s Heathrow Airport on Saturday cancelled 30 per cent of Sunday’s flights as it braced for heavy snow and freezing fog.
The airport, which is expecting up to 15 centimetres (six inches) of snow overnight, said it would publish a list of the flights it will operate on its website at 6pm (1800GMT) Saturday, but warned further cancellations were possible.
“We expect the percentage of passengers who are able to fly to be higher than 70 per cent as airlines will transfer people between flights,” the airport said in a statement on its website.
“Passengers should contact their airline for more information.”
The west London airport, which is the world’s busiest in terms of international passenger traffic, said it expected snow at Heathrow from 5pm (1700 GMT) on Saturday until 6 am on Sunday, with up to 15 centimetres to fall in total.
Officials at the airport, which handles more than 180,000 passengers a day, also warned of reduced visibility and possible freezing fog from 1800 GMT.
Heathrow’s chief operating officer said the cancellations would ensure that “the greatest number of passengers can fly with the minimum amount of disruption.”
“It also means that those passengers whose flights are cancelled will know in advance, and can make alternative arrangements or rebook in relative comfort,” Normand Boivin said.
Britain’s Met Office forecaster issued its second highest severe weather warning on Saturday, with swathes of the country expecting heavy snow and travel disruption.
Northern, central and eastern England are expecting up to 15 centimetres of snow. Light flurries began falling on the city of Manchester, northwest England, around midday.
Temperatures have plunged to new lows in Europe where a week-long cold snap has now claimed more than 220 lives as forecasters warned that the big freeze would tighten its grip over the weekend.
A total of 260 people have died from the cold weather in the last seven days according to an AFP tally, with Ukraine suffering the heaviest toll.
People have been found dead on the streets in some countries, while thousands have been trapped in mountain villages in Serbia. In Italy, Venice’s canals started freezing over and even Rome was dusted in snow.
The lowest temperatures recorded in Europe were in the southwest of the Czech Republic, where the mercury dropped as low as minus 38.1 degrees Celsius (minus 36.5 Fahrenheit) overnight Thursday.
The EU executive said Friday that vital Russian gas deliveries had dropped in nine countries, with Russian giant Gazprom invoking flexibility clauses as it also braves a cold snap. Supplies fell 30 per cent in Austria and 24 per cent in Italy.
Ukraine’s emergencies ministry raised its death toll to 101 since the cold snap took hold, 64 of whom died on the streets.
Almost 1,600 people have sought medical attention for frostbite and hypothermia and thousands have flocked to temporary shelters.
The chilling temperatures killed eight more people over 24 hours in Poland, bringing the death toll to 37 since the deep freeze began a week ago, police said.
Temperatures plunged to minus 35 Celsius in some areas of Poland Friday.
In Bulgaria parts of the River Danube froze over, while another six people were found dead from the cold, bringing the overall tally to 16 in the last week, according to local media.
Most of the dead in the European Union’s poorest country were villagers found frozen to death on the side of the road or in their unheated homes, the reports said.
More than 1,000 Bulgarian schools remained closed for a third day amid fresh snowfalls and piercing winds in the northeast.
In neighbouring Romania two more people died, bringing the overall toll to 24, and hundreds of schools remained closed.
In Rome, residents experienced only their second day of snow in 15 years, with white flakes covering palm trees, ancient Roman ruins and Baroque churches across the capital.
Up to five centimetres (two inches) of snow fell in some districts and ancient monuments like the Colosseum were closed to visitors for fear of damage to the structure.
Canals in Venice, where temperatures fell as low as minus 5 Celsius, started freezing. However trains resumed normal service across the country except in and around Bologna and on a local line near Rome after days of delays.
Three people have died due to the extreme weather in recent days, including a homeless man found in Milan on Thursday.
An Italian ferry with over 300 people aboard got into difficulties off the port of Civitavecchia, north of Rome late Friday, hitting a harbour wall and ripping the side of the ship, port authorities said.
Two tugs managed to bring the “Sharden” safely in with all passengers and crew safe and sound.
In Estonia, a man was found frozen to death on a street in Tallinn, the first reported death there.
France also reported its first death after an 82-year-old man suffering from Alzheimer’s wandered out of his home in his pyjamas in the eastern French village of Lemberg and died of hypothermia.
One person died in Serbia, but teams of workers ploughed through snowdrifts to get food, supplies and aid to thousands of residents of mountain villages cut off by the weather.