Dublin Airport Halts Flights Due To Snow

`The main runway is closed for snow clearing and de-icing,` a spokeswoman for Dublin Airport said.

Dublin Airport halted all flights on Thursday because of heavy snow, and former state carrier Aer Lingus cancelled all flights from Dublin for the rest of the day except one to New York and one to London Heathrow.

"The flight schedule at Dublin Airport this afternoon has been considerably affected with many flight cancellations," the airport said on its website, adding that the runway would re-open at around 1800 GMT if the weather permitted.

"If conditions don't favour that, the time moves back further," a spokeswoman told state radio RTE.

The flight information page of the airport, also the headquarters of Ryanair, Europe's largest low-cost airline, showed most departures of all airlines cancelled until around 1900 GMT.

"Passengers affected by this disruption are advised not to come to the airport," Aer Lingus said. The airline plans to operate a full schedule of flights on Friday, it added.

A heavy snowstorm hit nearby Britain this week, causing disruption costing up to 3.5 billion pounds ($5 billion) to its economy, and some flights from Britain were still being suspended on Thursday.