Snow woes

London Heathrow Airport has cancelled 30 percent of its flights on Sunday due to expected delays caused by overnight snow and forecasted frozen fog.

Officials had anticipated up to 10 centimeters (four inches) of snowfall overnight, and freezing fog was expected to move in later in the evening on Sunday.

Heathrow reached an agreement with the airlines to cancel some flights to prevent more significant disruptions to flights and passengers that could result if they tried to stick to the schedule.

"We deeply regret any disruption caused to passengers by the cold weather," said Normand Boivin, Heathrow's chief operating officer on the airport's website. "Reducing the flight schedule means we can fly as many people as possible and return the airport to normal as quickly as possible."

Passengers are advised to ask their airlines which flights are among those affected.

All across Europe

The flight cancellations at Heathrow come amid an ongoing cold snap, which has claimed at least 260 lives.

There have been 122 deaths alone in Ukraine, where some have frozen to death in the streets as temperatures dropped to as low as minus 38.1 degrees Celsius (minus 36.5 Fahrenheit).

States of emergency have been declared in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo, and by authorities in 28 Serbian municipalities. In Montenegro, some roads and the main airport in the capital, Podgorica, were closed after a three-day snowstorm.

With temperatures so severe, the Russian firm Gazprom has said it is unable to meet the additional demand coming from western European countries.

The Russian Prime Minister Vladmir Putin has instructed Gazprom that its priority is to supply his country first.

mz/za/acb (AFP, Reuters)