Anger rises as travel havoc snarls Europe

Frustrated travelers in Europe expressed fury Monday at transportation officials’ inability to clear snow and ice from planes, runways and high-speed train tracks, failings that have caused holiday travel chaos and fears that many will not get home in time for Christmas.

The continent’s worst bottleneck was London’s Heathrow Airport, where thousands of travelers were stranded overnight as flight cancellations increased even as other major European airports resumed normal operations after several days of four weather
delays.

London Mayor Boris Johnson summed up the exasperation as Britain suffered another day of travel setbacks.

“It can’t be beyond the wit of man surely to find the shovels, the diggers, the snow-plows or whatever it takes to clear the snow out from under the planes, to get the planes moving and to have more than one runway going,” he said as British Airways canceled its Monday short-haul schedule from Heathrow.

Air traffic control agency Eurocontrol said Monday on its website that the situation at Heathrow had become “chaotic.”

Embarrassed British officials promised an inquiry into the poor performance of the transport network, with Transport Secretary Philip Hammond planning to address Parliament about the failures, which included massive delays on the Eurostar rail service linking England to France and Belgium.

At Heathrow’s sprawling Terminal 5, tired and disgruntled passengers faced lengthy waits without much information.

American Suzie Devoe, 20, was one of many who had spent two nights sleeping on the airport floor in a bid to get home for the holidays. She was desperately trying to rearrange a flight so she could get back to Washington to spend Christmas with her family.

“The whole situation has been a complete nightmare,” said the Bristol University student. “I just want to get home, I want to be with my family. But I’m being held in a horrible limbo.”

Hundreds of passengers camped overnight in Heathrow terminal buildings after services were canceled or delayed.

British Airways said all short-haul flights from Heathrow would be
canceled Monday.

Forecasters have said Britain is experiencing some of the most severe winter weather in a century, with continued freezing temperatures and snowfall accumulations expected Monday afternoon and evening.

British Airways warned passengers not to travel to London’s Heathrow airport unless they have a confirmed seat on a flight known to be operating despite the weather problems and the backlog of delays. It urged travelers to consider canceling their
flight if possible.