It appears that, at the moment, all the major UK airports are open, however, there is still some disruption to flights as a knock-on effect from yesterday’s problems.

Passengers are advised to check the status of their flight with their airline.

At Gatwick airport, Sky News is reporting that it is taking up to five hours to get some passengers off flights!

Passengers are advised to check the status of their flight with their airline.

For information on possible flight cancellations check the following sites:

• British Airways: check your flight here: http://www.britishairways.com/travel/arrdep/public/en_gb
• Eastern Airways – one cancellation so far: http://www.easternairways.com/latest-news/weather-disruption-6-january-2010.html
• easyJet: the airline has now introduced a live chat facility – for a link to that and a list of cancellations click here: http://easyjet.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/easyjet.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=3708
• Flybe: http://www.flybe.com/news/1001/07.htm
• Manx2.com: no reported problems so far
• Ryanair: http://www.ryanair.com/en/notices/gops/100105-SNOW_UK_05JAN10-GB
• Virgin Atlantic: http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/en/gb/passengerinformation/latestnews/index.jsp?WT.mc_id=twsnow

What a nightmare for travellers, road, rail and air, this snow has been. It has to have been the worst snow for around 15 years in England and about 30 years in Scotland and it appears it’s not over yet.

Apologies to anyone checking this website over the last couple of weeks for airport updates but I have been on an extended break and have been unable to blog.

Normal service will resume today, but firstly, I would like to thank Flybe for the calm and efficient way they handled my snowbound problem yesterday.

The heavy snow meant that although the airport was operational it was unreachable by road and flights I had booked could not be taken. A quick call to their call centre (change or amend a booking) meant that I was able to change the flights to a later one that day free of charge and wait for the roads to be cleared.

For those of you affected by blocked roads who need to take a Flybe flight check with the airline about changing your booking. I was informed yesterday that due to the snow passengers could change their flights, rebooking flights up to the end of January free of charge, but the rebooking must take place prior to the departure of the original flight booked.

Information from Flybe’s website:

Passengers booked to travel on any flights which Flybe is forced to cancel today due to adverse weather conditions are offered one of the following three options:

1. Refund for the flight affected
2. Travel to the final destination at the earliest opportunity.
3. Travel to the final destination at a later date (subject to availability)

Passengers unable to travel to/from airports within the next 24 hours due to continued adverse weather conditions can re-book to travel on another flight on the same route at no additional charge, subject to availability.

Please contact our Customer Call Centre on 0871 700 2000 or, if calling from outside the UK, 00 44 1392 268500.

For anyone flying today who is concerned about the status of their flight, check with your airline, they will have the most up-to-date information about what is happening.

British Airways has won its court battle to prevent strikes by cabin crews over the Christmas and New Year period.

easyJet has renewed and expanded its agreement with Airline Services Ltd (ASL) for provision of de-icing services at airports throughout the UK.

The new contract adds London Gatwick, Birmingham airport and Bristol International to the list of airports already supported by Airline Services and represents an increase of approximately 50% in the number of easyJet aircraft serviced by ASL.

Nick Whinder ASL Director Ramp Operations commented: “The extended periods of sub-zero temperatures during winter 2008/9 were a severe test of the UK’s de-icing providers. We have worked with easyJet for a number of years and the expansion of our contract is testament to the consistently reliable and professional service that ASL provides to all its customers.”

Airline Services will provide de-icing expertise on easyJet’s fleet including A319, A320, A321 and B737-700 aircraft. ASL now has representation at nine UK airports: Birmingham, Bristol International, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London Gatwick, London Luton, London Stansted, Manchester and Newcastle airport.

British Airways is due to meet with Unite union at 3pm this afternoon in a fresh bid to end the proposed strike by cabin crews.

The meeting will take place one hour after BA is due in court to challenge the strike ballot.

For passengers affected by the planned industrial action, BA has now set up an FAQ section on its site here: www.britishairways.com/travel/strike-ballot-faq/public/en_gb

Aurigny is to waive ‘change of booking’ fees for customers who need to change their flights to connect with British Airways flights affected by the industrial action.

‘This is to cover flights originally booked for travel during the period 19 December through to 10 January,’ says Aurigny Commercial Director, Malcolm Coupar.

‘Customers wishing to use this facility should check the availability of Aurigny flights through our website to ensure appropriate flights exist, then contact us through our call centre on 01481 822886 to make the changes to their bookings.

‘Unfortunately we are not able to make this change facility through our website. Replacement Aurigny flights can be booked for any time in the next 10 months.’

Following the result of yesterday’s cabin crew ballot, BA has announced they are reworking flight schedules with a view to announcing them as soon as possible.

Passengers with bookings for BA flights between 22 December and 2 January – the expected industrial action period – should keep an eye on the following web pages for announcements as they happen:

Strike ballot announcement

Changing bookings

BA intends to inform affected customers directly if they have their e-mail address or by SMS text if they have their mobile phone number – you can check your contact details here

It has just been announced on Sky News that BA cabin crews have voted 9 to 1 in favour of strike action.

The Unite Union representing cabin crews must give seven days notice of strike action, so the earliest possible date will be 21 December.

Details of strike dates will be published in this blog when announced.

Ryanair has announced it is to open its 37th base at Oslo Rygge in March 2010.

From March, the airline will base three aircraft at the airport allowing it to offer 16 new routes – a total of 22 in all, and 100 weekly flights.

The 16 new routes from Oslo will be to Aarhus, Berlin (Schonefeld), Dublin, Dusseldorf (Weeze), Eindhoven, Gdansk, Krakow, La Rochelle, Malaga, Memmingen (Munich West), Palma, Paris (Beauvais), Riga, Wroclaw, Valencia and Venice (Treviso).

Just when you thought you’d got your Ryanair bookings sorted by securing an Electron card, Ryanair moves the goal posts and announces that it is to axe its charge-free deal with Electron card in favour of MasterCard Prepaid cards!

Yes, Ryanair has just announced it will accept MasterCard Prepaid card as its charge-free payment method from tomorrow, 1 December 2009.

The charge-free method currently offered by Ryanair – the Visa Electron – will incur a €5 administration charge from 1 January 2010.

Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara said:“We are pleased to announce our new partnership with MasterCard which will enable consumers to save even more when travelling on Ryanair’s unbeatable low fares. MasterCard Prepaid Cards are widely available across Europe from financial institutions and online.

Right, you have been warned, you’ve now got a month to go and get a MasterCard Prepaid card.