Holidaymakers at Newcastle International Airport said the runway was “decimated” by snow as Storm Bert batters the country with strong winds, heavy rain and snow and ice.
Weather warnings have come into force bringing a “potential risk to life and property”, while some air travel is disrupted with flights from Newcastle airport to Europe being delayed or cancelled.
Frequent travellers Tim Harding, 53, and his wife, Chona, 58, were due to fly at 9.15am with Dutch airline KLM from Newcastle to Amsterdam to connect with a Delta airlines flight to Orlando, Florida, to meet their family in the US for Thanksgiving.
The couple, who arrived at the airport at around 6am on Saturday, said the weather was “unprecedented” as the snow fell “really quick” over a two-hour period.
Mr Harding told the PA news agency: “Going to the airport… it was sleeting all the way through then all of a sudden it started coming down.
“There were about four or five snow ploughs on the runway and they just couldn’t clear it. It was windy and it was literally coming down really quick, so hard. In the space of two hours, it went from nothing to decimated.
“The gritters were out continuously, the ploughs were out continuously, but it just wasn’t having an impact unfortunately.
“I was surprised how quickly it came down and how much came down in a two-hour period. I haven’t seen that for a long time.”
Due to Storm Bert there has been some disruption to flights this morning due to snowfall in parts of the UK, including Newcastle.
— Newcastle International Airport (@NCLairport) November 23, 2024
Thanks to our hardworking snow team the runway has been cleared within an hour and the airport is operating as normal.
Passengers are still… pic.twitter.com/s8D5PJUoCi
He added the airport was “unprepared” for the weather, but praised staff for working hard to remove the snow.
“(The airport) only had one guy outside with a shovel and a bucket clearing the snow for people coming into the airport and getting dropped off. They were unprepared for it. The staff inside were a bit panicky,” he said.
“I think the airport did well. I think it was unprecedented… I think they were taken by surprise”.
The couple were due to meet their 16-year-old nephew from Seattle in Amsterdam before joining him on a flight to Orlando, but they have rebooked their trip for Sunday.
Despite the cancellation, Mr Harding said his family’s safety is “paramount”.
He added: “We’re frequent flyers and safety is absolutely paramount for me. You don’t want to jeopardise anybody or put anybody at risk.”
Fellow holidaymaker Richard Green, whose 9.05am flight for Krakow in Poland has been delayed, said he “couldn’t see the apron” – the area where aircraft park, unload, refuel and are boarded by passengers – which was covered in a blanket of snow.
The 25-year-old from Wallsend in Newcastle told PA: “I was coming up on the Metro this morning, it was a bit of sleet, but it wasn’t bad.
“It was just as you were getting closer to the airport you could see the snow was starting to lie and then by the time I got into the departure lounge you could see the snow was getting really, really heavy.
“You couldn’t see the apron. You couldn’t see anything. It was just all white.”
Mr Green said his flight has been delayed to 3.15pm and is currently waiting at the airport for further updates.
Newcastle International Airport said the runway was cleared by noon on Saturday and said it is working hard to avoid further delays to its passengers.
In a post on X, it said: “Due to Storm Bert there has been some disruption to flights this morning due to snowfall in parts of the UK, including Newcastle.
“Thanks to our hardworking snow team the runway has been cleared within an hour and the airport is operating as normal.
“Passengers are still advised to visit our website for the latest flight information and to contact their airline directly if they have any queries.”
