Snow chaos at Gatwick and Heathrow – more flights to Norway from London canceled
Heavy snowfall leads to both cancellations and delays at London Gatwick Airport south of London. There are also big problems at Heathrow. Britain’s busiest airport reports 48 canceled flights in the 21 hours.
It’s British Express which reports on the chaos at the busy London airport Heathrow.
The airport said it was working with airlines and air traffic control to minimize the impact of the disruption, and urged passengers to check flight status with airlines.
Several Norwegian flights have been canceled, including an SAS machine, route SK810 from Heathrow which was supposed to land at Oslo Airport Gardermoen at 20.40 and Norwegian DY 1309 which was supposed to land at 22.00, also this at Gardermoen.
These departures are also cancelled:
- Norwegian’s route DY1319 from Gatwick which had to land in Bergen at 23.45.
- Norwegian’s route DY1337 from Gatwick which had to land in Stavanger at 23.30.
- Norwegian’s route DY1341 from Gatwick which was supposed to host in Trondheim 23.55.
Medicines sent off
Stine Steinshaug (31) is one of many who are stuck at London Gatwick Airport, along with more and her daughter. They should have taken Norwegian’s route DY1341 from Gatwick, which should have arrived in Trondheim at 23.55.
She says that they received a message that their flight was canceled just before departure, and got a new flight to Stavanger before it was also canceled shortly afterwards.
– It is total chaos here, with long queues and no information. There is nothing above the speakers or on the board. We have been sitting in front of the board the whole time, but we first saw on VG that the flight to Stavanger had been cancelled. We can’t get through to Norwegian on the phone either.
Steinshaug says that they have school and work to go home to tomorrow.
– We don’t know when we’ll get home, and don’t know where we’ll end up. Hotels in the area are full, so we probably have to sleep at the airport and hope to get home tonight or tomorrow morning.
In addition, more medication, which she is very dependent on, has been sent away with the suitcase.
– We don’t know when or where it will end, and my mother only has medicine for tonight.
– Many get a new flight in addition to the week
Ole Jacob Raste from Oslo is sitting on the train from Gatwick back to London when VG talks to him just before 10pm on Sunday evening. The plan to land at Gardermoen was canceled on Sunday evening when the Norwegian plane was canceled earlier in the evening.
He and the traveling party are now booked on a flight on Monday evening.
– We were lucky, because we heard in the queue that there were more people who had not yet been given new times. Many have got flights on Tuesday and Wednesday, he says.
– Norwegian was as if evaporated
Julie Ramsberg and her mother are also on a train from Gatwick back to central London, looking for a place to get a few hours’ sleep. They should actually have flown Norwegian DY1311 back to Norway just before nine o’clock.
– There were absolutely no personnel from Norwegian at the airport. They were like evaporated, she says. Nor did they get an answer on the phone, according to Ramsberg.
They are without their luggage and are unsure if their flight will leave the next day.
– I think this is extremely unprofessional. In such situations it is important that we get information. I react to being made to fix everything yourself. I also don’t know how much money we will get back, she says.
Both Ramsberg and the mother struggle with migraines and say that stress and lack of sleep don’t exactly help.
– Buses without toilets
Also for those who have to travel to London it’s trouble. VG spoke to Norwegian Mari, who lives and works in the capital.
She traveled with Norwegian’s D83518 from Copenhagen, and was supposed to land in London at 18:50, but an hour and a half later they have instead landed in Manchester, where they were eventually told that buses would take them to London.
– After two hours the bus arrived, but people were upset when they were told that it was going to Gatwick airport, and not to the city centre, she says.
Later it became a solution with different buses anyway.
When VG talks to Mari on the night of Monday, she is sitting on the bus, which takes up to four hours to London.
– These are buses from the 80s without toilets, and we haven’t been given any food, she says.
She believes that the passengers have been poorly looked after and that this is a disclaimer from Norwegian. She is also surprised that the airport is not prepared for snow in December.
Other airports an option
Press officer Andreas Hjørnholm at Norwegian tells VG that Norwegian has a total of five scheduled flights to Norway tonight.
Also to escape to Stockholm, that to Copenhagen and one to Helsinki are cancelled.
– There is a lot of snow and chaos at Gatwick. We are now working on rebooking the affected passengers. We are trying to find the fastest possible departure for them, apart from the next few days. If you continue, we will have to find other solutions, there are several other airports in England, says press officer at Norwegian, Andreas Hjørnholm.
Press manager for SAS in Sweden, Anna Sandell, tells VG that SAS has canceled two flights on Sunday evening as a result of the snow at the airports in London.
– Both the flight to London Heathrow and the flight from there to Oslo have been cancelled. 66 passengers were booked on the flight from Oslo and 158 passengers were booked on the canceled flight from Heathrow, says Sandell.
The weather pattern continues
London Gatwick Airport warns on its pages that snow and freezing temperatures can lead to disruptions in air traffic. Passengers are asked to check the status of their flight and the local conditions before setting off for the airport.
The de-icing must also lead to a delay.
From Heathrow it states that they are working with airlines and air traffic control to reduce the delay.
According to the BBC, it is snow and fog that is freezing over parts of Great Britain.
The forecasts indicate that the weather conditions will continue for several days.
The weather has also led to delays in train traffic and several accidents on motorways.
More snow
The British Met Office has warned that around 10 centimeters of snow and sleet may fall south-east of London, where Gatwick airport is located.
In Essex, up to 15 centimeters of snow has been reported. It reports Sky News.
The meteorologist has issued a yellow warning.