Air traffic chaos: Live updates

BA cancelled four out of five flights from Nice to Heathrow today

Whilst the weather along the Côte d’Azur is certainly milder than the temperatures experienced in the UK, hundreds of ex-pats will try to make the great escape from the regions airports.

The worst hit British airport is London Heathrow with thousands of passengers camping out in terminal buildings. British Airways have cancelled four of their five flights today between Nice and Britain major airport. However the British Airports Authority (BAA) reopened a second runway last night, ahead of schedule.

BAA originally announced at 10.15am yesterday that Heathrow would be running at a third capacity until 6am on Thursday 23 December.

Easyjet flights to London Stansted and London Gatwick managed to leave Nice Côte d’Azur airport yesterday.

In Toulon all flights to Paris Orly airport went ahead yesterday although delays have affected all departures. Marseille-Provence airport also suffered minimal disruption with few cancellations, although all flights to Paris Charles de Gaulle had been suspended.

All passengers are advised to check the status of their flight online before travelling.

8.08pm

Easyjet have cancelled their 8.30pm flight from Nice to Paris CDG. Flights after 9pm from Nice are already expected to be delayed including the 9.30pm flight to Gatwick.

7.03pm

BA have updated their flight schedule for tomorrow. The 8.50am flight from Nice to Heathrow has been delayed until 11am, apart from that all flights are scheduled to depart on time. BA's two flights from Marseille to Gatwick have also been confirmed to go ahead as planned.

5.53pm

Time for a quick summary of today.

After four days of chaos caused by snow effecting Northern Europe London Heathrow returned to 70 per cent capacity today. Gatwick and London City airports have been reportedly operation close to full capacity.

On the Côte d'Azur, despite British Airways cancelling four out of five flights between Nice and Heathrow, there has been few disruptions, although passengers have been experience delays, with take-offs delayed for an average of half an hour for each flight.

BA have announced that they will be adding extra aircraft and seats to their schedule in an attempt to fill the backlog, which has seen passengers stranded across Europe.

4.30pm

BA have also just announced that they will be adding extra aircraft and seats to shorthaul flights to and from Gatwick, Heathrow and London City

4.27pm

BA have just announced that they will be operating a full long haul departure schedule from Heathrow tomorrow and Christmas Eve.

3.56pm

Ryanair's 4pm flight to London Stansted has been delayed with likely delays expected for the 4.35pm departure.

3.13pm

For anyone trapped at Heathrow you can use internet kiosks and wi-fi for free, the airport has just tweeted.

2.52pm

Flights are departing on average 30 minutes late from Nice Airport and it's a similar story at Marseille too.

2.40pm

Dublin flight (2.55pm) expected to take off around 4.30pm.

2.13pm

Aer Lingus flight (2.55pm) from Nice to Dublin has been delayed. BA has announced that they are running a full schedule from Gatwick and London City and will be adding more flights where they can.

2.01pm

BA still advising passengers not to travel to airports unless they have a confirmed booking, despite 70 per cent of flights operating from Heathrow today the backlog of passengers is expected to take days to clear.

1.25pm

Gatwick have announced that the BA flight to Marseille has been delayed until 4.04pm

12.51pm

Easyjet flight (1.25pm) from Nice to Berlin has been delayed.

12.35pm

The Guardian is offering their own advice to travellers http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2010/dec/21/snow-disruption-travel-advice

12.22pm

Gatwick has issued a warning to passengers travelling to Dublin to check with airlines first, as Dublin Airport is experiencing delays and cancellations. Elsewhere Nice Matin writes that 31 post offices in the Alpes Maritimes will stay open until 8pm on Thursday to deal with the backlog caused by snow.

12.08pm

A flurry of flights from Marseille to Paris Charles de Gaulle have been delayed.

11.51am

BBC has produced a list of passengers rights for those of you caught out by the chaos http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12038224

11.23am

Majority of flights are departing from Nice Côte d'Azur airport today, although BA still only operating one out of five services to Heathrow.

6.45am

 Toulon to Paris Orly flight cancelled.

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TD