The UK Border Agency is warning that travellers passing through UK ports could face possible delays and disruption due to strike action by the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS).

The strike action is taking place on Monday 8 March and Tuesday 9 March.

Lin Homer, the Border Agency’s Chief Executive, said: ‘We are disappointed that PCS members have voted in favour of industrial action. It means that the travelling public are likely to suffer disruption and delays at border control as a result of this two-day action.

‘We have robust plans in place to ensure that the essential work of the UK Border Agency is maintained and the border remains secure. UK border security will not be compromised by this industrial action.

‘We expect that people travelling into the country may experience some delays at border control, but we will work hard to keep these to a minimum and hope that passengers will welcome the commitment of those staff who will be working despite the strike action to ensure they are seen as quickly as possible.

BAA is advising passengers to have their travel documents, including passports, ready and to use automatic e-passport gates where available.

Ryanair has announced it is to launch direct flights to four French destinations from Leeds Bradford Airport.

Leeds flights to Montpellier, Carcassonne, Nantes and Limoges will all take off at the end of March.

Tony Hallwood, Commercial Director at LBIA said, ‘The launch of the new Ryanair routes to 4 different French regions has opened up a range of new leisure and business opportunities. France is the number one overseas holiday destination from the UK and we are thrilled to be able to offer these exciting new services. We also look forward to welcoming an increasing number of French visitors to Leeds and Yorkshire in 2010′.

To book Leeds airport parking using an instant, online price checker or to book accommodation at  Leeds airport hotels click on the links.

Leeds Airport has received the Safer Parking award for its airport parking facilities for the sixth year in a row.

The Safe Parking award is run by ParkMark and is only awarded to parking companies that demonstrate high standards of safety and security including good access control, safe entries and exits and comprehensive CCTV coverage.

To book Leeds airport parking using an instant, online price checker or to book accommodation at  Leeds airport hotels click on the links.

Disruption is expected to flights to and from Ireland today due to industrial action by air traffic controllers in Ireland.

Affected airports are Dublin and Shannon, which will see industrial action between the hours of 14:00 and 18:00, and Cork Airport where industrial action is expected to take place between the hours of 16:00 and 18:00.

Ryanair has cancelled 52 flights due to the industrial action – check here for details of cancellations

To check the status of your Aer Lingus flight click here

For Aer Arann disruptions click here

Snow is causing disruption to flights and there are several cancellations today. The below list is not comprehensive list but does offer information on some cancelled flights.

• Eastern Airways – details of cancelled flights can be found here http://www.easternairways.com/latest-news/weather-disruption-6-january-2010.html
• Flybe – details of snow affected flight cancellations can be found here http://www.flybe.com/news/1001/13.htm
• Ryanair flight cancellations here http://www.ryanair.com/en/notices/gops/100105-SNOW_UK_05JAN10-GB
• British Airways – some cancellations – check the status of your flight here http://www.britishairways.com/travel/arrdep/public/en_gb
• easyJet – check your flight status here http://holidays.easyjet.com/FlightCheck/flightdepartures.aspx?lang=en
• Virgin Atlantic – a couple of flight cancellations check here http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/en/gb/passengerinformation/latestnews/index.jsp

Gatwick bound BA flight de-iced at Stansted

What a nightmare for air travellers it has been recently. The snow has caused total chaos and the uncertainty of not knowing whether you could get to the airport, and once there, would you plane be able to take off, has been really stressful.

I know from the emails I have received, and the comments made on this blog, that passengers have also been hampered by the lack of information coming from some airports and some airlines.

Passengers making their way home to Britain also faced problems not knowing if their flights would land at their intended destination. There were quite a few diversions last week, even Glasgow Prestwick Airport took in 24 diversions from flights destined for Heathrow, Gatwick, Dublin, Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh airports.

The photo above shows a British Airways 747 being de-iced at Stansted on Friday. Bad weather forced the Gatwick bound jet to divert into Stansted after its long haul flight from Lagos, Nigeria.

Flight update

Although flights do appear to be getting back to normal, with the threat of more snow looming, we could still see more problems ahead. Anyone concerned about the status of their flight is advised to contact their airline and to monitor the flight departures boards on their airport website.

Stories and suggestions

If you have any stories about your travel experiences in the recent bad weather, or have any suggestions (polite ones!) that could help improve communications from the airports and airlines I love to hear them. Feel free to add them in the comments below or email me, thanks, Paula.

Leeds Bradford Airport has reopened following earlier problems caused by snow.

The airport is advising passengers to check in as normal however, delays may occur.

To book Leeds airport parking using an instant, online price checker or to book accommodation at  Leeds airport hotels click on the links.

Due to the snow there have been several flight cancellations today. The following airlines have published details of their cancelled flights:

Eastern Airways check here for details http://www.easternairways.com/latest-news/weather-disruption-6-january-2010.html

easyJet flight cancellations can been seen here http://easyjet.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/easyjet.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=3708

Ryanair flight cancellations are available here http://www.ryanair.com/en/notices/gops/100105-SNOW_UK_05JAN10-GB

British Airways – to check the status of your flight click here http://www.britishairways.com/travel/globalgateway.jsp/global/public/en_

The BBC is reporting that flights have been temporarily suspended at Leeds airport. The airport is reporting that there are delays caused by the snow fall, however it is advising passengers to check in as normal.

There have been several cancellations of flights into and out of Leeds Bradford Airport – check the flight arrivals here and departures here for more information.

An update on the conditions at the airport is expected at 11:00.

To book Leeds airport parking using an instant, online price checker or to book accommodation at  Leeds airport hotels click on the links.

For more information on flight status and lists of cancelled flights check the following links:

British Airways – check flight status here

Flybe cancellations listed here:

Eastern Airways cancellations check here

Virgin Atlantic check flight status here

easyJet cancellations check here

Ryanair – a list of cancelled flights can be found here