AP News, December 21st, 2006
Holiday chaos set in at Europe's busiest airport Thursday as thick fog forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights, leaving thousands of travelers to spend the night in tents at Heathrow terminals.
British Airways canceled a quarter of its short-haul flights within Britain and Europe for Friday, the busiest travel day of the holiday season. Long-haul international flights were delayed, and the fog was expected to last through the weekend, raising the prospect of more delays.
"It's bedlam," said Nicholas Velez, 23, of Washington. "The whole terminal is so packed you can barely walk."
With Heathrow hotels full, Velez was one of the 500 people who slept in chilly terminals while waiting for flights home. Heated tents, sleeping mats and catering stalls were set up for stranded travelers.
Zubair Qamar, 33, also heading to Washington, was given a hotel voucher after waiting for six hours Wednesday. "I spent some of my vacation in a five-star hotel, which was not so bad," he said. "But I would have preferred to be back."
With international flights receiving priority, many passengers' holiday plans were thrown into doubt.
More than 700 flights have been canceled since the fog rolled in Tuesday, affecting an estimated 40,000 people. About 160,000 people go through Heathrow on a typical day, but nearly 200,000 were expected at the airport Friday.
Planes can land using electronics, but the fog forced Heathrow to space out flights to avoid collisions. Visibility on Thursday had reached a low of 377 feet, well below the 3,280 feet generally considered disruptive for flights.
"When we flew in last night, you couldn't see the ground," said Velez. "I've never seen anything like it before."
Heathrow _ built on flat, grassy land and surrounded by reservoirs and canals _ is particularly vulnerable to fog. Long, cool nights and calm winds have led forecasters to warn that the fog could linger into the weekend.
British Airways has reserved about 3,000 hotel rooms in the Heathrow area. Buses were arranged to ferry people between the airport and nearby cities, said Becky Livingstone, a British Airways spokeswoman.
The airline said it was unsure when normal service would resume. "We are very much dependent on the weather," Livingstone said.
