Fresh snow forecasts threaten to prolong chaos caused by a cold snap that could also dent German growth, and airlines and rail networks struggled to restore normal services in parts of Europe yesterday.
Heavy snowfalls at the weekend disrupted flights and high-speed train travel in the UK and mainland Europe, creating travel chaos for tens of thousands of travellers in the busy Christmas period.
Cold weather was likely to clip fourth-quarter growth in Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, Volker Treier, the chief economist at Germany’s DIHK chamber of industry and commerce, said yesterday.
“A lot of construction projects have been stopped and a lot of business trips cancelled,” he said. “Freight transport has also had weather problems. The bottom line is the harsh weather will cost about a half a point of growth this quarter.”
In Britain, the weather has caused severe delays to rail services across northern and central districts and forecasters say more heavy snow is on the way.
Travel havoc has triggered calls for legislation to force airports to deal more effectively with bad weather.
EU transport chief Siim Kallas said he was considering forcing airports to provide a minimum level of infrastructure support during severe weather.
London’s Heathrow, the world’s busiest international airport, and Frankfurt Airport, the biggest on the continent, said on their websites that operations were returning to normal.
BAA’s chief executive Colin Matthews said he would forego his 2010 bonus following the travel chaos, a move demanded by one union representing airport workers. “It’s unacceptable that passengers can’t get where they want to be. We’ve had a crisis here, I’m responsible, so I’ve decided not to take my bonus,” he said.
British Airways said it had been told to operate only a third of its normal flights at Heathrow until 6am today.
Analysts estimate that the disruption is costing British Airways up to £10m a day. – Reuters