By RAY MASSEY

Long night: Passengers sleeping at Gatwick Airport overnight


As thousands of passengers spent another night asleep on terminal floors at Gatwick Airport, calls for an explanation into the two-day closure grew amid claims the facility was ill-prepared for the Arctic conditions.

The Surrey airport had closed on Tuesday night 'until further notice' after a foot of snow fell in 24 hours - with around 1,400 flights cancelled.

Transport Secretary Philip Hammond told MPs that 100,000 tonnes of snow were cleared from Gatwick airport in the last 24 hours but the flights remained grounded.

But the futility of the clear-up operation - which staff branded ‘thankless’ - was made clear as it emerged the ariport has only eight snowploughs and had to resort to using tractors to move the drifts.

Many passengers were left asking how airports in America and Canada could routinely cope with far worse conditions and still remain open.

And closer to home - they pointed to Newcastle International Airport in the North East of England where flights were running yesterday, though with some delays.

Cities like Detroit and Chicago fully expect a harsh Winter, so spend the money investing heavily in emergency equipment which, say critics, British operators fear may be rarely, if ever used, and sit idle for most of the year.


Government troubleshooter David Quarmby, author of a ministerial-commissioned report into Winter Resilience published in October and now charged by Mr Hammond to conduct an urgent review into the transport chaos of the last few days, said:’Comparisons are being drawn with Scandinavia and Canada. The difference is that these countries always get severe winters.’

They ‘know to the week when the snow is gong to come and how long it is going to last.’ By contrast, he said:’Our pattern is very, very different. It’s always very unpredictable.’

Gatwick said it had 100 people working around the clock and deployed 45 winter vehicles - including eight snow ploughs, ten tractors with special snow brushes, five tractors with shovels, and ten more general tractors.


Snowbound: Outside Gatwick Airport this morning


The rest of the vehicles deal with de-icing and gritting. Gatwick said it had removed 150,000 tons of snow over the last 36 hours.

Gatwick Airport bosses denied suggestions that they had put too much of their budget into shopping malls to entice greater profits from transiting passengers, than investing in sufficient snow ploughs.

The Surrey airport finally resumed service this morning at 6am, but the good news was tempered with a warning that it may take several days for a degree of normality to return.

'Weather forecasters are predicting freezing fog during most of today, so passengers should expect further disruption, with flights limited and delays and cancellations inevitable,' a spokesman said.


Thankless task: Snow ploughs operate on the runway at Gatwick Airport which has seen thousands of flights cancelled


Shut-down: The airport closed down on Tuesday evening and is expected to remain shut until Thursday at the earliest


'Passengers should also be advised that it is likely to take a few days before flight schedules return to normal.

'Train services to and from the airport will continue to be limited and road networks are likely to remain severely affected by the weather.

'Given all this, our advice to passengers is do not travel to the airport without first checking with your airline to make sure that your flight is departing today.'


White-out: The snowbound airport is captured on camera by Sussex Police's helicopter team


Blanketed: Planes are covered with snow at the airport


Desperate passengers also accused hoteliers of cashing in on their plight. Frances Gibson and her husband Trevor, from Falmouth, Cornwall, paid £60 to stay at the Mercure Hotel at Gatwick Airport following their return to the UK from Hong Kong and New Zealand.

But Mrs Gibson, 69, was angered when hotel staff told her she must pay £200 for another night in the same room when she was forced to extend her stay due to the disruption.

She said: 'Some people say they just can't afford it and are planning to spend the night at the airport instead.'

Last night, the Mercure Hotel said the increase in the price reflected the growing demand.

source: dailymail