400 airline passengers bound for London who were forced to spend the night in Limerick hotels last night as a result of freezing conditions in the UK resumed their journey this morning.
Six transatlantic flights on their way from the US to Heathrow were redirected to Shannon Airport. Some of the planes were in UK airspace or on approach to London when they were ordered back over to Ireland.
Shannon airport spokesman Eugene Hogan said four of the six flights managed to resume their journey yesterday and the last two departed this morning.
The affected routes included Heathrow-bound services from Dallas, Miami, Houston, Washington, Denver and Atlanta. The aircraft were a mixture of Boeing 747s and 777s.
Sixteen Aer Lingus flights between Ireland and the UK were cancelled over the weekend. A spokeswoman for Aer Lingus said larger aircraft were laid on this morning to accommodate passengers whose flights were cancelled. Service has returned to normal today.
A spokesman for Ryanair said all flights were operating normally. The airline was forced to cancel four flights on Saturday and one flight yesterday. Ryanair said passengers booked to travel on cancelled flights could transfer to the next available Ryanair service free of charge or apply for a refund.
However intending passengers travelling to parts of Europe and to the UK have been advised to check with their carriers this morning as there may be some delays.
Heathrow Airport is expected to operate at close to normal today after the heavy snowfall on the weekend caused the cancellation of about 50 per cent of flights yesterday.
The UK Met Office cautioned there may be disruptions to travel today and issued "severe weather warnings" across England and Wales as heavy snowfall turns to ice. As much as 10cm of snow fell on London on February 4th.
Heathrow and Gatwick are operating normally today, both airports said in statements on their websites.
Heathrow warned there may be some cancellations and both airports advised passengers to check the status of their flights with their airline before traveling. British Airways, which cancelled more than 150 flights from Heathrow yesterday, plans to operate "as normal a schedule as possible," today, it said in a statement on its website, adding that this advice is subject to change at short notice.
Fog patches are "likely" to form in many areas, adding to the risk of disruption, the Met Office said. Drivers should take extra care on roads, even where they have been treated with salt and grit to melt the ice, the UK Highways Agency said.
Hundreds have lost their lives in eastern Europe as a result of the cold snap
Nine more deaths from cold were registered in Ukraine over the weekend, taking the death toll to 131 from a nine-day cold spell which has brought freezing temperatures to the ex-Soviet republic.
Eight more people had frozen to death over the past 24 hours in Poland, bringing the death toll there to 53 since the cold snap began, PAP news agency reported the national police headquarters as saying.
The extreme cold had also caused the death of at least three people in Hungary, ambulance spokesman Pal Gyorfi was quoted as saying by the national news agency MTI.
The first winter snow fell in Paris overnight coating the Eiffel Tower, and more showers due throughout Sunday. The French capital's main airports were also expecting problems and advised passengers to check with the airlines before travelling.
Meanwhile the death toll rose to four, after a 12-year old boy died of hypothermia yesterday after falling into a frozen pond in eastern France and a homeless person was found dead in the northeast.
Additional reporting: Bloomberg