Stansted and Luton Airports Closed in London Due to Snowfall

Two of London's major airports, Stansted and Luton were closed on Wednesday because of a winter storm. USA Today reported that Stansted was closed down for at least two hours starting at 6 a.m. while Luton's runway was closed for at least one hour starting at 6:40 a.m.

At Stansted and Luton, Ryanair and EasyJet two of Europe's major low cost carriers were affected as many of their flights go through the two airports. David Roach a spokesperson for Luton airport said to Bloomberg that "the runway was shut during the peak rush hour but the closure was fairly short so we should get through the backlog quite quickly."

Reuters reported that 40 flights were cancelled with many more likely to be delayed. A student who was waiting for her flight to Poland at Stansted said to BBC News, "They kept saying the flights were delayed, and after an hour and a half they said all flights were canceled. It was really cold and really unpleasant, and the gate had no carpet. I was sitting on the floor. Some of the people were stuck for two hours on the planes."

Stansted is located 50 kilometres northeast of London and has only one runway. Reuters reported that the airport had to close in order to clear about an inch of snow that fell overnight. A spokesperson for stansted said to Reuters, "The mornings are busiest at the airport so there will be a knock-on effect and delays to more flights this morning."

Aberdeen airport was closed as well for a short period of time on Wednesday but London's other airports: Heathrow, City and Gatwick were all operating normally. In 2010, Heathorw, Europe's busiest airport, was closed due to snowfall leading to a number of flight cancellations and delays.