In the 1970's (I can't remember which year but it was one when everything froze solid) I was a pax in the Brymon from Newquay to Heathrow on my way to catch the overnight QANTAS to Bahrain where I then lived and worked.
On short final it started snowing heavilly and we diverted to Bournemouth. Bournemouth was the only major airfield left open in the south of England and just about everything was going there.
As we got out of the 'Hark the Herald' (it was a Christmas flight) a Laker DC10 arrived, smoke billowing from its brakes as they just made it in.
I believe that Bournemouth has never in its history had so many large aircraft on the ground at any one time. Airstairs were at a premium and some pax on larger aircraft had to wait for hours before they could disembark.
I heard a story (unconfirmed) that, in one case, ladders had been used to get people off.
I managed to get out of LHR the following day on an MEA via Beruit. We were de-iced right up until the last moment before pushback and when we took off it was down a corridor with snow banked either side of the runway higher than the cabin windows.
Last edited by Xeque; 6th Dec 2004 at 15:26.