British Airways said it had “introduced more flexible rebooking options for all customers on short haul flights flying to and from London Heathrow or London Gatwick airports.

It added that customers due to travel this week until March 2 could rebook their flight for a later date and could travel on dates up to March 21, “regardless of whether your flight is currently showing as operating or not”.

Heathrow airport tweeted to say that its team had been clearing snow throughout the night and that its runways were open. It added: “While wintry weather may result in minor delays and some airlines consolidating flights, we don’t currently expect significant disruption today”.

Gatwick said flights were continuing to arrive and depart from the airport “as normal” despite some snowfall overnight, but urged passengers to check the status of their flight and allow extra time for journeys to the airport.

Meanwhile Newcastle said teams across its airport were “pulling out all the stops to keep the North East”, as it tweeted snowy scenes of its runway and planes.

https://twitter.com/NCLairport/status/968759573061558272

It’s not just the UK which has been hit by the so-called Beast from the East. Snowstorms have also affected much of western Europe, reaching holiday hotspots as far south as France’s Cote d’Azur and
 the Italian capital of Rome.