Thousands stranded as ‘knock-on effect’ hits Heathrow and Gatwick

Thousands of passengers remained stranded at London's airports today as more than 100 flights were cancelled.

At least 112 cancellations of flights in and out of Heathrow were announced while 13 more were axed at Gatwick. The majority of cancelled flights were short-haul and domestic.

British Airways was among the airlines affected, with departing flights including those to Madrid and Toulouse cancelled. Arrivals including those from Dallas, Basel, Zurich and Rome were axed.

A spokesman for Heathrow said the disruption was due to "a knock-on effect" from last week's extreme weather.

Robert Percy. 48, his wife and two children from Twickenham have been stranded in Spain for five days after their flight to Gatwick was cancelled. He said: "This trip has cost us £800 extra so far and easyJet are no help whatsoever. My wife and daughter have been tears. We just want to get home."

With an overnight low for London expected to reach minus 1C, the Met Office warned drivers to beware of ice. Councils across the capital continued to spread grit as "thinly as possible" to preserve stocks, while one council said the shortage is so extreme that thieves have been stealing the contents of grit bins to sell at inflated prices.

Bosses at Bexley council have now ordered workers to stop refilling the grit bins, which are used by staff to treat pavements in busy shopping areas and outside key locations.

They were all filled more than a week ago, but a high proportion were reported to be empty even before the latest snowfalls. Grit thieves are also suspected to have struck in Sutton where many of the 150 public bins are now empty.

On the trains, thousands of rail commuters face a further week of disruption and overcrowding — this time caused by fewer carriages.

Many carriages were damaged by last week's conditions so rail companies are now running services with four cars instead of eight or eight instead of 12.

Southeastern, the busiest commuter operator, confirmed "some trains will have fewer carriages than they usually do over the next week or so" and warned of possible delays and cancellations.

Problems are either electrical, when motors overheat as trains struggle to get a grip on the icy rails, or due to problems with the wheels as they slide along the track.

Southern, which includes the Brighton line, said cancellations and delays continued for longer distance services from the Sussex coast with the reduced timetable still in force.

South West Trains, Chiltern, East Coast, First Capital Connect (Thameslink,) and National Express East Anglia/Stansted Express also reported short notice delays and cancellations. Passengers with tickets for Eurostar were advised to cancel or postpone their journeys. The company operated a reduced service today with late evening services cancelled. Goldhawk Road Tube station was closed this morning due to ice damage on the platform.