Three flights to Dubai including two Emirates flight have been affected due to severe weather conditions across Europe - mainly London and Paris.
Emirates cancelled one of its flights from Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport, France (CDG) it has rerouted a flight scheduled to depart from London Heathrow (LHR) to London Gatwick (LGW).
EK 30 scheduled to depart from LHR at 16:30pm will now take off from LGW.
The flight is now scheduled to depart at 15:30pm. All passengers have been requested to report to LGW Airport for check in.
Commenting on the flight from Paris Emirates said on its website, “Flight is cancelled due to weather conditions in CDG and operational constraints.
“All passengers are being protected on first available EK operation up to their final destination.” a message on the airlines’ website said.
The flight was scheduled to depart at 9:25 am.
Etihad Airways
Etihad Airways has delayed two flights into Paris Charles De Gaulle airport.
Flights EY31, departing at 2.15am and EY37, which was scheduled for 8.45am, have both been delayed, as France reportedly expects as much as a 40 per cent drop in flights across both in and outbound air traffic.
Etihad’s website is still reporting flights departing Paris are on time.
One Etihad flight to London’s Heathrow has been rescheduled.
Flight EY11, departing 3am, saw a delay, while the 8.20am EY19 has been rescheduled.
EY17, departing at 1.45pm, is on schedule for now.
Also, inbound, barring flight EY20 being rescheduled for a 2.05pm departure from Heathrow, passengers will be relieved to know that the two remaining Etihad flights are taking off on time.
British Airways
BA 107 from London Heathrow (LHR) to Dubai has been cancelled. The flight was scheduled to depart at 12:40pm.
British Airways in a communication to its passengers said, “Poor weather in the UK and parts of Europe continues to cause disruption to our flights. We strongly recommend you check the status of your flight and only go to the airport if your flight is operating.”
The airline has offered the customers the following options: “If you are due to fly to or from any of our London airports on Sunday 20 and Monday 21 January, you may change the date of your flight, free of charge, to a later date between 24 January and 11 February.”
Western Europe in deep freeze
Extreme winter weather swept across western Europe on Saturday, leaving thousands of passengers stranded at London's main international airport and claiming several lives in Spain, Portugal, Scotland and France, including those of three Mali-bound soldiers.
The frigid temperatures also caused delays and cancellations on major railway lines including the Eurostar train service, and transport authorities warned of further traffic disruptions with more blizzards forecast for Sunday.
In London, thousands of passengers were forced to camp out on the floor at Heathrow Airport overnight as hundreds of flights to and from the British capital were cancelled.
"There are lots of bodies lying around in the airport. If feels like there's been a natural disaster," Jerry Meng from Los Angeles, whose flight to New York was cancelled, told the BBC.
London's other main airports, Gatwick and Stansted, managed to operate fairly normally Saturday.
For Sunday, the snow is expected to reduce traffic at Heathrow by 20 per cent, and French air traffic authorities have ordered a 40 per cent cut in takeoffs and landings at Paris' Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports.
Aeroports de Paris, which operates the city's main airports, said air traffic there would be disrupted from late Saturday "and all day Sunday".
Air France said all of its long-haul flights would operate normally Sunday, but that about 40 percent of its short- and medium-haul flights would be affected by the disruptions.
Snow and ice covering large parts of France led to several fatal car crashes, one of which killed three French soldiers about to join comrades fighting in Mali, authorities said.
The troops were travelling in an army car with their military packs and weapons when their vehicle crashed in an accident involving two trucks and two cars.
In total, six people were killed on the slippery French roads Saturday, and the nation's weather services have forecast more snow across the northern and southeastern parts of the country over the weekend.
The French railway SNCF said high-speed train travellers could expect delays of up to 40 minutes for all TGV destinations Saturday night, as train conductors had been ordered to slow down because of the elevated risks linked to the storms.
In the Scottish Highlands on Saturday, an avalanche killed four climbers and seriously injured one, while a sixth survived, police said.
The cold snap also led to power outages, particularly in Northern Ireland where at least 900 homes were without electricity Saturday.
In southern Europe, the fierce weather claimed several lives, killing two men in Spain as the force of winds whipping the country's southeastern coast caused a wall to collapse on them in the city of Cartagena.
Spain's national rail operator ADIF said wind damage forced delays to high-speed trains linking Madrid with the major cities of Seville and Valencia.
The country's interior ministry issued an alert for the weekend, warning of snow and rainstorms nationwide with winds up to 100 kilometres per hour (60 mph) and rough seas in the Mediterranean.
In Portugal, an elderly man was killed after strong winds hurled him into a door in the central municipality of Abrantes, leaving him with deadly head injuries. Two teenagers were hospitalised after a chimney collapsed in Agualva, in the Lisbon suburbs.
The Portugese meteorological institute has issued the highest weather alert for six of its 18 districts. According to rescue services, some 3,900 weather-related incidents were reported in Portugal between Friday morning and noon Saturday.
Some welcomed the icy spell.
In Russia, thousands of Orthodox devotees braved the cold weather and plunged into holes cut into frozen rivers and ponds to celebrate the Orthodox Epiphany.
Reference:
