With the Met Office forecasting snow to hit most of the UK over the next week what does this mean for travellers who are flying out of a UK airport over the next fortnight or so? Well let’s take a look to see what happened last time the UK was hit by heavy snow and how it affected UK airports and travellers alike...

Last year, and the early part of this year, the effects of the heavy snow meant that most of the UK ground to a halt. Local councils ran out of grit for the roads, the rail networks were thrown into chaos and even ferry ports suffered delays.

The airports tried hard to keep the runways open for as much time as possible, with constant clearing in operation. However, as well as extremely bad visibility, and the dangers of flying in such conditions, many problems came from trying to get the planes into the correct positions for take-off when the ground was covered in deep snow and ice.

And as a knock on effect, flights were cancelled and delayed at less affected airports due to flights not arriving from those badly affected airports.

Perhaps not a great surprise, but those airports in the South East of England were more affected than those in the north of the country, as well as Scotland. Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and London City Airports for example cancelled all flights in the extremist of weather conditions. But with snow rarely falling in this part of the country the South East does tend to grind to a halt more than other places across the UK. Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow cancelled far fewer flights. That is not to say however, this year will be the same. If the snowfall is very bad across the country flights will be cancelled wherever you are flying from.

Check with your airline before you leave for the airport

Of course, if the Met Office and fellow forecasters are right and your region is affected by snow over the next few weeks and you are due to fly out of the UK do make sure you contact your airline first. Even if there is just a scattering of snow, rather than a full avalanche, always check first. They will be able to advise you as to whether the flights will be affected by delays or cancellations, and how and what you do about your flights.

• You can check directly with the airline you are flying with – but be warned of very busy telephone lines. Try looking online first.

• Also, you can check with the airport you are flying from – again, be warned of calling as you might struggle to get through on the phone. Try their website first.

Have you booked your travel insurance yet?

Every traveller should always have their travel insurance in place, ideally as soon as you have booked you travel. However, if you haven’t yet booked your travel insurance then do so straight away as good quality travel insurance policies will cover you for most delays or cancellations due to adverse weather conditions.

When the last snow fell travellers found they were given two options by airlines, either to rebook their travel for another date or they were offered a full refund.

That’s all well and good but what if you can’t even get to the airport? What if it’s impossible to get your car off the drive? Say the taxi firms are all closed? Or the roads are shut off? You have a hotel booked overseas which you won’t be able to get to? And what if you are stuck in an overseas airport, needing to book accommodation for a few days until the airline can fly you back?

Do make sure you check you have the right travel insurance before you buy. Whilst it’s much cheaper to buy online it’s worth giving the insurance company a call first to ask what it does and doesn’t include if you’re unsure!

This is particularly prudent advice if you have booked your travel independently. If you have booked a package holiday the travel firm will cover certain costs, but even so, you must book your travel insurance.