Heavy snow sparks travel chaos as airports closed amid Britain's -11C chill
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Heavy overnight snow is causing disruption across the UK, with several major airports forced to suspend flights as temperatures dropped down to -11C. Manchester and Liverpool John Lennon Airport both closed their runways on Sunday morning due to heavy snow and some key roads in northern England remained shut. Manchester Airport said its teams were working to clear them "as quickly as possible" but had been hampered by "heavy snow" around 7am.
In an update shared on social media at 8.45am, Liverpool's airport said the runway was still temporarily closed but the airport remained open. Both airports reopened their runways by 10.15am on Sunday but urged passengers facing delays to contact their airlines.
Birmingham Airport had suspended operations for several hours overnight "for snow clearing and safety reasons", but said it was on schedule for "business as usual" on Sunday. Bristol Airport reopened around 11pm after an earlier closure but warned of ongoing delays because aircraft were out of position following flight cancellations. All the affected airports urged passengers to check with their airline for updates.
National Highways warned up to 25cm of snow could hit roads in northern England. Roads closed due to snow included the A628 Woodhead Pass which connects Greater Manchester and South Yorkshire through the Peak District overnight in both directions between the A616 at Flouch and the A57 at Hollingworth.
The A66 in County Durham and Cumbria was closed between the M6 and A1M because of the conditions, while two of four lanes on the M1 northbound between J30 Worksop and J31 Sheffield in South Yorkshire were shut after a collision involving a HGV. National Rail said the line between Leeds and Halifax via Dewbury was closed in both directions, with disruption on northern routes expected into Monday.
