A photograph taken on January 5, 2025 shows a snow man outside a house the Marsden, northern England, as heavy snow across parts of England are set to cause disruption. An amber weather warning -- the second most serious -- for snow and freezing rain was in place for much of Wales, central England and parts of northwestern England. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP)
LONDON, BERLIN (AFP): Heavy snow across parts of England was on Sunday set to cause disruption for air travellers with runways closed at airports in Bristol and Liverpool.
The Met Office said Bingley in northern England had seen 12 centimetres (4.7 inches) of snow overnight.
An amber weather warning -- the second most serious -- for snow and freezing rain was in place for much of Wales, central England and parts of northwestern England.
Higher ground in Wales and northern England was forecast to see up to 30cm of snow.
Some rural communities above 300 metres (1,000 feet) could be cut off with up to 40 cm of snow, the Met Office said.
Manchester and Liverpool John Lennon airports in northwest England closed their runways on Sunday.
Central Birmingham airport also suspended operations for several hours overnight for snow to be cleared from its runway but said it expected it would be "business as usual" on Sunday morning.
Bristol airport also reopened at around 11 pm (2300 GMT) on Saturday but warned of delays due to aircraft being out of position.
The National Grid said it was working to restore power after outages in central and southwest England and south Wales.
Snow and black ice also forced the cancellation Sunday of dozens of flights at Frankfurt airport, Germany's largest airport.
In all, 120 of some 1,990 flights at the airport in the country's west were cancelled, with a spokesperson telling AFP take-off and landing runways needed clearing while "de-icing the planes is also more complex and more demanding."
Poor visibility was another factor behind the annulations.
In Munich, 35 flights were cancelled as a precaution late Saturday evening out of a total of 750 departures and landings scheduled at Germany's second largest airport, a spokesperson said.
Disruptions had begun on Friday evening at Berlin-Brandenburg airport, with 30 flights disrupted amid icy conditions in the capital.
The meteorological office warned of freezing rain on Sunday after snowfall overnight and recommended passengers avoid unnecessary travel.- AFP
