HEAVY SNOW HALTS FLIGHTS IN UK, FORCES RUNWAY CLOSURES

January 5, 2025

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Heavy snow across parts of England was on Sunday set to cause disruption for air travellers with runways closed at airports in Bristol and Liverpool.

The Met Office said Bingley in northern England had seen 12 centimetres (4.7 inches) of snow overnight.

An amber weather warning — the second most serious — for snow and freezing rain was in place for much of Wales, central England and parts of northwestern England.

Higher ground in Wales and northern England was forecast to see up to 30 cm of snow.

Some rural communities above 300 metres (1,000 feet) could be cut off with up to 40 cm of snow, the Met Office said.

Manchester and Liverpool John Lennon airports in northwest England closed their runways on Sunday.

Central Birmingham airport also suspended operations for several hours overnight for snow to be cleared from its runway but said it expected it would be “business as usual” on Sunday morning.

Bristol airport also reopened at around 11 pm (2300 GMT) on Saturday but warned of delays due to aircraft being out of position.

The National Grid said it was working to restore power after outages in central and southwest England and south Wales.