As one who sat right through it all, it did seem a bit excessive. We were all in the 1610 departure to Dundee, conditions ok when we crossed the ramp to board, then it snowed, de-icing was needed, then the runway was closed "for one hour to sweep". Fair enough, back into the terminal, sat there for 2.5 hours, then it was cancelled, along with everything else. So gave up and went home (it was just an overnight trip).
Check-in area by 1830 was of course a heaving mass of disorganisation. Escalator up to departures shut down and roped off. We were sat in the quite new extension to the bar/cafe over the entrance doors, which gives a grandstand view of it all (and which I can recommend as an oasis of calm during any future delays).
But why was the airport closed for the rest of the day ? The snow pretty much was over after an hour. Does LCY have any special conditions about use of contaminated runways not in force elsewhere ? Because if you can't use an airport while it is snowing, half the ski flights would be lost (which we know does not happen), and all those flights I have made around Canada and Russia in the winter (including on BA) arriving/departing ON TIME on adequately ploughed runways where it was still snowing, and had been all day, must be figments of my imagination.
For those who followed my sad saga from a couple of weeks ago when overbooked by CityJet, yes, this was the rearranged trip to the same potential client in Scotland. This time we decided to go the evening before the meeting, to give a buffer. What a disaster !