Snow and ice brought new holiday travel misery to Britain on Thursday, forcing flight cancellations and icing up roads.
Scotland bore the brunt of the bad weather which has dogged Britain for the last week.
Temperatures fell to minus-15 degrees Celsius (five Fahrenheit) in some parts of Scotland Wednesday night and airports including Edinburgh and Glasgow warned of possible delays and cancellations.
Passengers were advised to check with their airline before travelling to the airport.
On Wednesday, a Ryanair passenger jet with 127 people on board skidded off the runway at Prestwick airport, west of Glasgow, after hitting ice.
Meanwhile, weather forecasters the Met Office have issued severe weather warnings of "widespread icy roads" for much of England, Wales and Northern Ireland, although milder weather is moving in some parts.
"Conditions are very challenging," said David Grunwell of the Highways Agency, which is responsible for gritting motorways and major roads. "We have got a variety... across the whole of the country.
"The key is for travellers to note the conditions before they set out and expect them to change."
Two women died in Cornwall, southwest England, Tuesday when a bus crashed in icy conditions.
Budget airline easyJet cancelled 16 services on Thursday, while London Gatwick airport reported a "small number" of cancellations and Heathrow warned of "some disruption".
The Eurostar rail service linking Britain and mainland Europe, which suffered days of chaos earlier in the week when its trains were affected by snow, was running to a "modified timetable".
Passengers with tickets for Thursday were told to arrive an hour before their original departure time, while those with tickets from any day between Saturday and Wednesday were reassured they "will be able to travel".
Copyright 2009 AFP European Edition
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