Dubai and Abu Dhabi flights disrupted after heavy snow closes UK airports

Manchester Airport was forced to temporarily shut its runways after severe weather hit north of England hard

International flights were delayed or cancelled after heavy snow forced England's Manchester Airport to close. Reuters

International flights arriving and departing from UK airports have been cancelled or delayed after heavy snowfall forced runways to close.

On Monday, Manchester Airport was forced to temporarily close some of its runways, leading to flights to and from Dubai and Abu Dhabi being delayed.

Departure boards showed delays to Etihad flights to Abu Dhabi which were scheduled to leave on Monday afternoon. Emirates flights arriving from Dubai, Egypt and Turkey were also facing disruption.

Heavy snow hit the UK on Sunday, leading to road, rail and airport closures. Severe weather warnings from the Met Office remained in place for large parts of the UK on Monday.

Sunday January 5 was the UK’s coldest night of the winter so far, with a temperature of -13.3ºC recorded in Loch Glascarnoch in the Highlands, between Ullapool and Inverness.

The Environment Agency has issued 166 flood warnings, meaning flooding is expected, and 299 flood alerts, meaning flooding is possible, across England.

In Wales, there are three flood warnings and 34 flood alerts.

Major motorways and rail lines were forced to close and remained shut on Monday.

Manchester Airport said at 7.15am that its two runways had reopened, after reporting at 6.30am that they were closed because of “heavy snow”.

The brief closure has led to many flights to Europe being cancelled and international flights being delayed.

"Some departures and arrivals may still experience delays," Manchester Airport said.

Staff used tractors to clear snow from around aircraft.

The Met Office issued a yellow rain warning for Monday, while a separate warning for snow and ice covers much of northern England and North Wales.

Cold air will return and remain across the whole country from Monday onwards after a brief spell of milder conditions in southern areas, the Met Office said.

Liverpool's John Lennon Airport, Leeds Bradford Airport and Aberdeen Airport were also experiencing delays.