Manchester Airport has temporarily closed its runways this morning due to heavy snow.
The airport said crews were working to clear the runways as quickly as possible and advised passengers to allow ‘extra travel travel time today’. It comes as heavy snowfall hit Greater Manchester this morning as the region is covered by two severe weather warnings.
Two Met Office amber snow warnings are in place throughout Sunday morning, after coming into force yesterday afternoon. Snow is expected across much of Greater Manchester over the next few hours.
FOLLOW LIVE WEATHER UPDATES HERE
People have been warned to expect major travel disruption and potential power outages, with remote communities at ‘risk’ of becoming cut off. Up to 40cm of snow could fall across higher ground, the Met Office have said.
In a statement Manchester Airport said: “Our runways are temporarily closed due to heavy snow, as our teams work hard to clear them as quickly as possible. The safety of our passengers is our top priority, and we appreciate your patience during this time.
“Please check with your airline for the latest flight information and allow extra travel time today. We will update you as soon as possible. Thank you.”
Meanwhile Birmingham Airport suspended operations for several hours overnight ‘for snow clearing and safety reasons’ but said it was on schedule for ‘business as usual’ to start the morning. Bristol Airport reopened around 11pm after an earlier closure but warned of delays on Sunday morning due to aircraft being out of position.
Both airports and Belfast International Airport urged passengers to check with their airline.