Mech assasin...your posts are reasoned...but do trend towards that "Heathrow is more complex than anywhere else" line
infrastructure as commercially and nationally complex and important as LHR
If this is indeed the case then surely a snow clearing plan for somewhere this stategically important and "complicated on the ground" should show a little bit more nous than the one you listed.
People don't like comparisons but you are going to get them because the Chicagos, New Yorks and Toronto's are as complex with similar movements...and yet are equipped to deal with the problem and do not CLOSE.
With an efficient plan in place LHR should never have to close. I hope no one with any common sense would advocate operating at near capacity in snow conditions...but you can still run a limited operation.
So when the weather forecast for Saturday was in the pipeline did the airlines or the BAA think...perhaps we better put a ground delay in, limit the flights, give ourselves a chance to move?....or did they operate at the 98% capacity figure that has been mentioned on this topic?
If it is the latter...then there is no chance of any success for snow clearance and the same thing will happen time after time...and the same line about Heathrow's complexties will be trotted out.
I don't even want to get into the discussions about "different snow" and "cold temperatures" because basically what the BAA and the airlines are saying is that their "plan" only covers one type of situation or contaminant.
Why should this be a topic whenever it snows. There are enough airports around the world that could provide help, planning, advice on what to do....yet either the airport/airlines brass don't listen or think that their airport is "unique".