Heathrow airport triples snow clearance fleet

From the BBC

Of course this now means that we will either have a very mild winter (cue stories like 'BAA wastes passenger money on unneeded kit') or the worst winter since the ice age (= stories 'BAA unprepared for winter chaos AGAIN!')

And somewhat ironic this released on the hottest September date since records began (or some such)

After last years debacle I think this was always going to have to happen! Tonty - I think you are right, we can nearly guarantee no snow what-so-ever this winter oo)

We lost our trip last winter to D.C. thanks to LHR not being able to clear 4 inches of snow in three days v( . Was a pain in the XXXX, did wonder if we should avoid booking in the winter months ever again. However we are heading off to Vegas on Xmas day this year so fingers crossed that LHR/LGW will be able to cope better should the white stuff return with as much vengance as last year.

We lost our trip last winter to D.C. thanks to LHR not being able to clear 4 inches of snow in three days v( . Was a pain in the XXXX, did wonder if we should avoid booking in the winter months ever again. However we are heading off to Vegas on Xmas day this year so fingers crossed that LHR/LGW will be able to cope better should the white stuff return with as much vengance as last year.

Sorry to hear about your hassles We went to MCO from LGW last December and only just got out beefore they shut the airport - have to say that VS did a fabulous job of ensuring the flight got off and the crew were officially nearly out of hours but agreed to fly y) y)

Well, the weather men and women, for what it is worth, are pointing to signs of a cold winter. But what do they know.

As for LHR (and BA too), they could have all the salt and ploughs in the world, but can they organize themselves out of a paper bag?

[Darren Wheeler]

Doesn't matter how much clearing equipment you have, if the snow falls fast enough and heavy enough, runways will be closed. At one point Heathrow had 7cm fall in 1 hours.

Other airports in Europe had a similar problem. These include Schipol and Geneva.

Other airports in Europe had a similar problem. These include Schipol and Geneva.

As did FRA and CDG

And it wasn't just snow it was ice as well.

And whilst BAA didn't cover themselves in glory the airlines did not help either (and those same airlines are the ones who approved the 'snow plan')

Almost any airport in the world would have closed with the quantity and speed of snow that Heathrow had last December.

However, the unacceptable farce was when there was no more snow but the place was still closed, with aircraft marooned on stands and only one cleared runway up to 4 days later.

Last Tuesday's Inside Gatwick was interesting as a large part of the programme was about how Gatwick tried to clear all the snow of the runway back in Dec 2010. As soon as they cleared it off, it was settling right behind them.