'Extreme weather' blamed for Gatwick shutdown

[danielson81]

I was checking the Gatwick website to see what time my brother was due to arrive, and I noticed a lot of delayed, diverted and cancelled flights!

Answer here:
http://www.travelmole.com/stories/1133547.php.

[atco-matic]

XCD NEW FOR LONDON GATWICK
Valid from: 2008-12-11
until: 2008-12-11
Released: 2008-12-11 10:22:27

TACT/CASA MESSAGE: XCD
----------------------
.
REF : WEATHER CONDITIONS AT EGKK
.
REG ID : EGKK11M
.
VALID : WIE UNTIL: 1230 UTC
.
REMARKS : DUE TO DE-ICING PROBLEMS EGKK AIRPORT IS
CLOSED UNTIL 1230 UTC
AO'S ARE INVITED TO SEND A FCM WITH THEIR
NEW EOBT AFTER THE RE-OPENING OF THE AIRPORT
AO'S WHO HAVE THE INTENTION NOT TO OPERATE ARE
REQUESTED TO SENT A CNL MESSAGE
FCM MUST CONTAIN THE REGULATION ID EGKK11M
.
FMD OPS/DIVISION-BRUSSELS

[G-CPTN]

How can you not know about temperature drop?
BBC NEWS | England | Sussex | Icy weather shuts Gatwick runway

[atco-matic]

XCD CANCELLED FOR LONDON GATWICK
Valid from: 2008-12-11
until: 2008-12-11
Released: 2008-12-11 10:37:25


+++ TACT/CASA MESSAGE : XCD - CANCELLED +++
-----------------------------------
.
REGULATION : EGKK11M
.
VALID : WIE
.
TFC CONCERNED: ALL TFC WITH DESTINATION LONDON GATWICK
.
REMARKS : THE SITUATION AT EGKK HAS IMPROVED AND
THE AIRPORT IS OPEN AGAIN FOR TRAFFIC
THE XCD REGULATION HAS BEEN CANCELLED
THE DELAYS ARE BUILDING UP TOWARDS 150 MIN
AO'S ARE REQUESTED NOT TO CONTACT THE HELP
DESK IF THEY ARE CAPTURED IN THE ABOVE
REGULATION ANY IMPROVEMENT WILL BE PASSED
ON IMMIDIATELY
.
FMD OPS/DIVISION-BRUSSELS

[FormerFlyer]

only appeared on the Beeb 15 mins ago...

BAA Gatwick: Welcome to Gatwick Airport | Parking

another link seeing how someone else got the Beeb one in before me!

[TightSlot]

Maybe it's just me, but I find this situation a little hard to believe. A major international airport is unable to forecast freezing conditions and has no plan to deal with low temperatures except runway closure?

I can't help but feel that we're not hearing the full story - does anybody have any further insight: I'm clearly missing the obvious, or else my expectations for what airports should cope with are way out of whack?

[Suzeman]

From the METARS it looked like it froze, then there was rain and snow and then it froze again. The rain and snow may well have washed the de-icer off the runway and they weren't able to get more de-icer down before it froze again.

But whatever happened - or didn't - it's just a tad embarrassing....

Suzeman

[Bealzebub]

Maybe it's just me, but I find this situation a little hard to believe. A major international airport is unable to forecast freezing conditions and has no plan to deal with low temperatures except runway closure?

Ahhh! Tightslot, This wasn't just any major international airport. It was a major international airport in the UK! Of course we are not talking about snow blizzards, or even the annual 12 snowflakes that brings everything to a crashing halt. This was frost which simply took everyone by surprise, what with it being the middle of December. Not only frost but.. well nothing really, but it was cold frost.

For all those "bah humbug" merchants out there, take note that not one single (tax free) shop cash register was allowed to be out of service for more than 5 minutes, and throughout this extreme climatic event (frost in December) not more than a dozen or so people entered the airside shopping tabernacle with so much as an illicit pot of hand cream or a nail clipper.

BAA. Working for you!

[Phantom99]

But whatever happened - or didn't - it's just a tad embarrassing....

Suzeman

Yes, it was rather embarrassing at Swanwick this morning.

"Hi Maastricht, Clacton here. the runway should be open by 0850, hopefully"

"Hi, Clacton again, 0930 now for the estimate at the earliest"

"Hello, me again, 1030...maybe"

[Glamgirl]

As posted elsewhere, the wrong de-icing fluid was used, causing all sorts of palaver. I'm guessing someone's already had their tea (no biscuits) and will quite possibly receive a p45 as a Christmas present...

Gg

[VAFFPAX]

Glamgirl, not if the union has a say...

The amount of incompetents who've been saved from the axe that is the P45 by their union(s) is staggering. And if they don't like it, they strike. RMT looooooooooooves doing that.

S.