Manchester Airport tackles snowbound backlog

Manchester Airport said in a statement this morning it was experiencing knock on effects from yesterday's severe snow falls but was confident of catching up with services today.

From 11.00pm last night Runway 1 has been operating as normal, the airport said. The statement, issued at 10.00am, went on: "We are continuing to clear the backlog of flights. A total of 10 flights from yesterday are still to leave. The majority of these flights will be leaving today, however some airlines have re-booked passengers onto flights later in the week.

"We are working with our airlines to arrange overnight accommodation for passengers whose flights have been delayed, however some passengers stayed in the terminals overnight where they were given food, water and blankets to make them as comfortable as possible.

"The safety of our passengers is our main priority and our staff are working incredibly hard to clear the ice and snow from our 750 hectare site.

"We are urging our passengers to check with their airline before they travel to the airport as bad weather in Europe and USA means some airlines have cancelled flights."

• At 3pm the airport issued an update: "With the exception of four cancelled flights to Amsterdam and Paris, Manchester Airport is now operating normally. Poor weather conditions in Northern Europe have also forced our airlines to cancel a further 19 flights earlier today with passengers being rebooked onto later services. The backlog of 10 flights from yesterday has been cleared because the destination airports have reopened. Around 27,000 people are due to depart today on 215 flights."