Heathrow Airport has cancelled 20% of all flights today and Paris CdG 40%, as both warn against travel to airports if flights are cancelled.

London Gatwick Airport is warning that “light snow is forecast for today”, although the airport’s flight schedule has also been revised down to “allow passengers more time to adjust their travel plans”, while London Stansted is warning all passengers to check the status of their flights before travelling to the airport.

This all follows the cancellation of more than 100 departures at London Heathrow yesterday as considerable knock-on disruption is expected to impact upon services today, with so many aircraft now in the wrong positions that it will take days to restore normality. More than 400 flights were also cancelled last Friday. In addition to whatever levels of snow fall in northern France and the UK’s south eastern regions today, airports are also concerned that very poor visibility is already evident and expected to last all day, making it very difficult for pilots to take off, land and taxi safely.

British Airways and Air France have both been significantly affected at Heathrow and Paris Charles de Gaulle airports in particular, although other carriers have also seen services disrupted, including Lufthansa, TAP Air Portugal and Air Lingus.

Quite how serious the snowfall will be in the south east of England today remains to be seen, although some airports – particularly Heathrow – do seem to struggle more than they should. More snowfall is also set to hit the UK further north later today and temperatures are not expected to rise for at least a few days.

[Above: Fair weather airport? London Heathrow Terminal 5, where passengers were forced to sleep on the floor last Friday night after hundreds of flights were cancelled due to snow].