Every year, one thing is almost certain, snow will fall in the UK. Last year parts of the UK were hit particularly badly in a storm that became known as "The Beast From The East". Now, Simple Flying has the pleasure of warning you that snow chaos could be on the cards as 10cm of snow are set to fall during tomorrow and Wednesday. While the cold white stuff can be huge fun, it is not the best for aviation. As such, the weather warning issued by the Met Office could be cause for concern.

Why Does Snow Cause Chaos?

For airports in regions where snow is a particular problem, such as Scandinavia, snow isn't so bad. As they deal with it day in and day out, it doesn't particularly phase them. By the contrary, every time Britain gets hit by snow, people who only clear snow a few times a year are sent out to battle it. This causes chaos as taxiways have to be cleared, and aircraft de-iced, with a similar number of employees to what usually runs the airport.

What Is Forecast?

Currently, the whole of England and Wales, and a significant part of Scotland is affected by a Yellow weather warning for Snow and Ice. This is valid from 2100 on Tuesday until 1200 on Wednesday. The Met Office has warned that this could cause "some stranded vehicles and passengers, along with delayed or cancelled rail and air travel".

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The Yellow weather warning affecting the London area. Photo: Met Office

Grahame Madge, a Met Office spokesman, told Simple Flying: "A band of rain pushing east across parts of England is likely to turn to snow during Tuesday evening in parts of the South East, with snow continuing into Wednesday this may lead to accumulations of 1 to 3cm across parts of the region. Exceptionally some places, especially over higher ground, may see 10cm. As the band of snow clears, ice will be a risk on Wednesday morning."

Snow Chaos
Stansted Airport advises passengers to check before they travel. Photo: Stansted Airport

Should I Worry About My Flight?

It is unfortunately still too early to tell whether the weather coming in will have a huge impact on flight schedules. Simple Flying contacted major London airports and airlines. London Gatwick, who suffered huge disruption from a drone event in December, told us they do not have an official stance on disruption as conditions are currently good, while EasyJet told us they were planning to run their schedule as normal. Only London Stansted edged on the side of caution, telling Simple Flying "As you would expect, we are in close contact with our weather forecasting providers and constantly monitoring the situation. Our snow teams are on standby to respond to any adverse weather, as they have been across the winter season."

Are you due to fly from London over the next few days? Do you think the yellow weather warning will cause snow chaos, affecting aviation? Let us know in the comments down below!