Europe travel chaos starts to clear

Scammer

Banned
t1larg.snow.plow.afp.gi.jpg


[video]http://cnn.com/video/?/video/weather/2010/12/21/shubert.uk.heathrow.cnn[/video]

London -- Airline and rail operators were making progress Wednesday clearing a backlog of passengers stranded after heavy snow across Europe threw travel plans into chaos.

London's Heathrow Airport, one of the worst-affected hubs, opened its second runway Tuesday evening, easing overcrowding in the airport's terminals where thousands of passengers had faced days of delays.

"We had a good start this morning. Both runways are opened and taxis are waiting in their stands," a spokesman for the airport operator BAA said.

However, the airport is still only operating at 70% capacity. Around 400 flights have been canceled and travelers are advised to check again with their airlines to see if they have been affected.

An official at Gatwick Airport also warned of "some knock-on delays and cancellations Wednesday," due to the ongoing impact of snow.

Problems at other airports forced 70 flights to be canceled at Frankfurt Airport in Germany, which intended to operate some 1,400 flights Wednesday.

"Our three runways are opened and our terminals getting back to normal," said Frankfurt airport spokesman, Juergen Harrer. "There are still many passengers in the terminals but we are doing our best to get them to their destinations."

Snow is forecast in Paris on Wednesday so airlines are being asked to trim their flights schedules by 15% from 6 p.m. (12 p.m. ET) at the city's main airport, Charles de Gaulle.

Airlines will cancel one quarter of schedule flights on Thursday, as advised by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. Passengers are being urged to consult their airlines.

The long queues that had been winding down the street outside Eurostar's London terminal, St. Pancras International, had largely cleared on Wednesday.

A Eurostar spokesman estimated around 500 people were queuing for check-in early Wednesday, far fewer than the thousands seen Tuesday.

"People seem to be respecting our advice not to come to the terminal unless they have a valid ticket for today, and not to arrive more than one hour before their train's departure. This is helping the terminal to get back to normal," Eurostar spokesman Leigh Calder said.

Eurostar has stopped selling new tickets for travel before December 26 in an effort to get passengers who have pre-booked on trains in time for Christmas.

"We are confident we will get everyone with a valid ticket to their destination before Christmas Eve," Calder said.

Eurostar is running at 80% of normal capacity, taking passengers across the Channel Tunnel to Paris and Brussels, Belgium. Nine trains have been cancelled out of 52 scheduled services on Wednesday.

Speed restrictions have been applied, so each journey is taking longer than usual and creating knock-on delays for other services.

The UK's Met Office said it was not expecting further snow in London Wednesday and that Heathrow and Gatwick airports "should remain dry."
 
Top