Heathrow airport cancels flights as snow carpets London

Monday, 21 January 2013 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

LONDON (Reuters) - London’s Heathrow Airport was hit by a third straight day of delays on Sunday after airport bosses cancelled 20 percent of flights as snow continued to blanket the British capital, with more forecast.

Heathrow Ltd, which is owned by Spain’s Ferrovial, said the reduced schedule - amounting to around 250 fewer flights - would help it cope with the expected snowfall without making further cancellations.

“There is a high probability of around two to six centimeters of accumulating snow and low visibility at periods throughout the day,” a Heathrow spokesman said.

“This will reduce the capacity of the airport and without action would cause significant disruption to passengers and flights.”

London’s smaller Stansted and Gatwick airports said they were operating as normal on Sunday morning but that delays and some flight cancellations were likely. Weather forecaster the Met Office said snow was likely to continue throughout Sunday and into Monday. As much as eight centimeters was expected in southeast England on Sunday, it said.

On average, some 1,300 flights leave Heathrow daily. The airport, Europe’s busiest, operates at close to full capacity after Britain’s coalition government blocked development of a third runway in 2010.