The chaos at Heathrow may well continue beyond Christmas Day, airport operator BAA has admitted.
Following talks with the government, Heathrow will tonight attempt to alleviate the situation by permitting flights to land and take off throughout the night, but the airport admits that even with the extra operating hours, it will still only handle one-third of its normal capacity at most.
In a statement this afternoon, BAA said: "We have agreed a reduced flying schedule until 06.00 on Wednesday 22nd December. A maximum one-third of flights are likely to operate during this period, and passengers should anticipate further delays and cancellations in the following days and potentially beyond Christmas Day.
“Passengers should not travel to Heathrow without a confirmed booking. If passengers can travel at another time then they should do so.”
The airport urged passengers to use its website, www.heathrowairport.com, for further information and added that if the site showed the phrase “contact airline”, then that flight would not be operating today.
“Passengers must not travel to the airport unless they have confirmed that their flight is leaving today,” the airport said.
BAA said it would “reflect carefully on the lessons we can learn and the steps we need to take to better prepare for these periods of poor weather."