19 Dec 2010

Heavy snow in UK and Europe

6:30 am on 19 December 2010

Holiday travellers in many parts of Britain face severe disruption due to heavy snow.

Many roads in north-west England are closed and police are advising people not to travel unless absolutely necessary.

British Airways and Easyjet have cancelled many flights out of Heathrow and Gatwick airports in London.

More snow is forecast in Northern Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and parts of England.

Heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures during the past few weeks have caused huge disruption in Britain, especially in Scotland.

It is the third consecutive winter to leave Britain snowbound.

There are also cancellations and delays at airports in Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands.

The BBC reports some 2500 passengers were stranded overnight on Friday at Frankfurt airport in Germany after 170 flights were cancelled.

Florence airport, in northern Italy, is closed and hundreds of cars are stuck on highways in Tuscany.

In France, snow has affected road and train travel in the west and north and Charles de Gaulle airport is reporting delays.

In the Netherlands, many flights have been cancelled at Schiphol airport, Amsterdam.