So I drove up to Sweden over the last 24 hrs and have a first hand report (as I couldn't fly).
Obviously snow everywhere, mayhem and chaos in England. Because I live close to Folkestone meant I could get the on the back roads to the Eurotunnel car train and avoid the worst of it. None of the roads we're salted or plowed. Eurotunnel delays, but not too bad.
Come to the French side where there's been exactly the same snow storm. Roads clear, salting vehicles everywhere. Traffic flowing. Not a speck of snow on any of the motorways. This continued uninterrupted through Belgium, Holland, Germany, Denmark and Sweden. I could see all the approaches into Hamburg and Kastrup on my way, and they worked fine.
So I stand by my observation from this year and last year: it's a British thing. And BAA - didn't you buy plows after last years debacle at Heathrow? Or did they think that snow in the UK was a freak accident? How much money does it cost to have all the airports in the UK closed? And weeks of backed up traffic? The badwill and revenue lost from people who will never connect through London during the winter again?
Surely a couple of snow plows must be cheaper than that...