Press Release

Gatwick Airport - runway temporarily closed due to persistent heavy snow

18 December 2010

The runway at Gatwick Airport has been temporarily closed until at least 15.00hrs today to allow the snow team to clear snow from the runway, de-ice and assess ground conditions before resuming operations to get our airlines and passengers flying again.

Gatwick has been open all morning and snow has been falling heavily in the Gatwick area solidly for the past hour and continues to fall.  Despite the heavy snow, Gatwick remained open and flights had been safely landing and taking off.

However, over 3cm of snow has now accumulated on the runway and it is now unsafe to operate aircraft. With planes travelling at speeds of more than 100mph when they land or take off it is critically important that the runway is safe as they do so.

Gatwick's snow team is now out on the runway ploughing, sweeping and brushing away the snow to make it safe for aircraft to land and take-off from. Heavy snow is expected to fall for the next hour or so and the runway will remain closed until it is absolutely safe to reopen it.

Gatwick Airport strongly advises passengers flying out this weekend to contact their airline to check their flight status before making their way to the airport.  With public transport and roads likely to be affected, passengers should check with transport operators before planning their journey to the airport.

Flight information is also available on our website at www.gatwickairport.com and passengers can get updates on Twitter @Gatwick_Airport.

Media enquiries to:
Gatwick Airport press office + 44 (0) 1293 505000
gatwickmedia@gatwickairport.com

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