Weather latest: Airports – including Manchester and Liverpool – close runways as snow and freezing rain hits Britain

Heavy snow has closed both runways at the UK’s third-busiest airport, Manchester. The last plane landed at 6.05am, and since then a procession of long-haul planes has been waiting to touch down.

So far Qatar Airways from Doha and Vueling from Barcelona have gone to Birmingham, while the Virgin Atlantic flight from Atlanta landed at London Heathrow. Aer Lingus from Orlando in Florida is currently on the ground at Glasgow.

The crews will be hoping to fly on to Manchester once at least one runway reopens, but there will be severe congestion for arrivals and departures.

KLM has grounded its morning flight from Amsterdam to Manchester, as well as the outbound service.

Airline passengers across England are facing severe disruption as airports are hit by heavy snow. Bristol airport closed for several hours on Saturday night, with dozens of diversions, delays and cancellations – and Manchester airport has closed both runways due to the snow, along with nearby Liverpool airport.

The diversions have begun. Passengers on the Qatar Airways overnight flight from Doha are blearily rubbing their eyes in Birmingham airport. Flight QR21 arrived in the Manchester area slightly behind schedule, just after the runway closed. It held for 50 minutes before diverting south to the West Midlands airport.

The last flight to land was Tui from Barbados at 6.05am, and in the following 90 minutes there are 10 more long-haul planes waiting to touch down. From the east, aircraft are holding from Beijing, Shanghai, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. From across the Atlantic, planes from New York, Atlanta, Orlando and Toronto, and another couple from Barbados.

Most have been flying holding patterns for half-an-hour or more, with more diversion declarations likely imminently.

Each time a plane diverts, it sets up problems for passengers later in the day. For example, the Qatar Airways flight was due out at 7.45am, with hundreds of passengers due to transfer to other flights to Africa, Asia and Australasia.

“Our runways are temporarily closed due to heavy snow, as our teams work hard to clear them as quickly as possible” – that announcement from Manchester airport shortly after 6am signals severe disruption for many thousands of passengers. “We will update you as soon as possible.”

Manchester airport is the third-busiest in the UK, after London Heathrow and Gatwick, and it has had a really difficult night, with every single flight since 10.30pm on Saturday delayed.

The closure of both runways will prove annoying for the tens of thousands of passengers waiting to fly out, but at least they can stay put. The last flight to land was Tui from Barbados at 6.05am, and in the following 90 minutes there are 11 long-haul planes waiting to touch down. From the east, aircraft are holding from Beijing, Shanghai, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha. From across the Atlantic, planes from New York, Atlanta, Orlando and Toronto, and another couple from Barbados.

Diversions look certain to start soon – last time this happened in Manchester, in January 2003, planes landed as far away as Dublin and Paris.

The Met Office has warned of snow and ice, with the risk of rare freezing rain, across most of England and Wales over the weekend.

The phenomenon – commonly known as ice storms in North America – is not often seen in the UK because the conditions needed for it are quite specific, according to the forecaster.

Runways at Manchester and Liverpool John Lennon airports were temporarily closed on Sunday due to heavy snowfall, causing flight delays.

Manchester Airport cited “heavy snow” and said teams were working to reopen the runways as soon as possible, urging passengers to check with airlines for updates. Liverpool John Lennon Airport also closed its runway but remains operational.

“We are working hard to clear the runway and will provide an update at 07.45 (GMT),” the airport said.

Elsewhere, Birmingham Airport resumed operations early Sunday after suspending flights overnight for snow clearing, while Bristol Airport reopened late Saturday but warned of potential delays due to displaced aircraft.

Two amber weather warnings have been issued, including a warning for snow and ice which will stay until 12pm today, covering most of the Midlands, Wales and parts of northern England.

Another amber snow warning will stay in place until the end of the day.

Met Office animation shows rain and snow arrived from the southeast on Saturday evening and is slowly making its way northeast.

“There’s more wintry weather on the way,” the forecaster says, as two amber weather warnings are in place.