Hundreds stranded as freeze hits flights

Heavy snow in east and central Scotland on Sunday piled on the misery for air passengers stranded at Edinburgh and Glasgow airports, while travel conditions on the roads continue to be extremely hazardous.

• Airport operators are battling to keep runways open

Several hundred passengers who had spent the night in Glasgow and Edinburgh airports after being diverted on flights to Heathrow and Gatwick were facing a day of uncertainty as the snow and ice continued to cause travel problems.

Edinburgh Airport was forced to close its runway on Sunday morning due to the heavy snowfall in Edinburgh and the Lothians.

Edinburgh has since reopened with some inbound flights landing safely and a number of outbound flights taking off, but travellers have been warned that there will be no flights to Heathrow, with limits on Gatwick flights.

Passengers are advised check with their airline before travelling to the airport as only they could confirm whether flights would be operating.

Glasgow said most flights were operating, however some airlines were experiencing cancellations or delays due to snow elsewhere.

About 300 people stayed at Glasgow airport on Saturday night after being diverted from other airports.

A spokesman said beds and blankets were provided by airport staff and the Red Cross.

Aberdeen airport also closed for a period on Sunday after it was hit with another round of snowfall.

A spokeswoman for Heathrow, which experienced temperatures of minus 5.2C overnight, said: "Heathrow Airport will not be accepting arrivals on Sunday, and will only manage a handful of departures as our airfield team continues to deal with the impacts of yesterday's bad weather and prepares the airport for a full reopening on Monday.

"We are extremely sorry for the disruption this will cause to passengers and airlines and we stress that passengers must check with their airlines before travelling to the airport. We will provide regular updates.

"We have listened carefully to the advice of our airside operations team and have reluctantly judged that while Heathrow's northern runway remains clear, the change in temperature overnight has led to a significant build-up of ice on parking stands around the planes and this requires the airfield to remain closed until it is safe to move planes around."

Police across Scotland advised motorists to drive with care and only to travel if necessary, as widespread warnings for snow and ice on the roads were issued.

Tayside police said travel conditions were "extremely poor" and were continuing to deteriorate after heavy snowfall in Angus and Dundee.

New Scottish Transport Minister Keith Brown said the country had been "tested" by the winter weather.

Speaking on the BBC's Politics Show, Mr Brown said: "I think we have definitely had the opportunities to learn the lessons from what was an extraordinary event last week.

"The system was tested last week and what we have done is try to learn the lessons from that and to expand the system to take into account future events.

He said agencies would be working closely together and co-ordinating their responses to problems on the transport network in the face of continuing snow, sub-zero temperatures and ice.

"We had heavy snowfall in Edinburgh this morning along the east of the country, we're having snowfall. We expect more snow and fog tomorrow. Also freezing fog and there's ice on the road, which is always a problem." he said, adding that people should "take heed" of advice from police and the Met Office."