Snow disrupts weekend travel operations in Europe
Ferry Online Travel News 12/01/2010
Ice and snow wreak havoc on multiple transport systems
Freezing weather conditions continued to disrupt transport systems in several parts of Western Europe yesterday – with airlines in France, Germany and the UK cancelled flights, and train schedules cut back.
Eurostar, which last month halted its operations for three days after melting ice shorted its electric rail system, informed that only 13 trains departed on Sunday in each way instead of the normal service of 23 from London to Paris or Brussels, and 25 from Europe to London.
Meanwhile EasyJet, a low cost airline, informed that it had cancelled at least 90 flights yesterday due to sub-zero weather conditions across Europe. According to the airline’s website, EasyJet’s services from and to Geneva, Krakow, London and Lyon were among the worst hit.
For now, Gatwick and Heathrow airports, the busiest in Europe, advise passengers to check their airlines before taking a trip to the airport. Temperatures will stay below freezing point throughout the week, with more snow expected to fall in the UK, according to Met Office.
In France, Lyon’s airport was closed on Saturday night because of the heavy snowfall, forcing about 800 affected passengers to sleep at the air terminal. In addition, about 63 flights had been grounded at Germany’s Frankfurt airport, with trains running two hours delayed because of snow.
Luckily, daytime temperatures in northern Italy were above freezing. The San Gotthard tunnel in Switzerland, a major link between northern Europe and Italy, was reopened on Saturday after being closed the day before.
Meanwhile, Spain’s airports were operating normally despite of snow all over the country.
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