US planes forced to land at Shannon

Six transatlantic flights on their way from the US to Heathrow were redirected to Shannon Airport because of the disruption at the London airport.

Some of the flights were already in UK airspace or on their approach to London when they were ordered back over to Ireland.

Shannon Airport Authority confirmed arrangements are being made for stranded passengers on at least one of the flights to stay overnight.

The affected routes included Heathrow-bound services from Dallas, Miami, Houston, Washington, Denver and Atlanta.

Shannon spokesman Eugene Hogan said the flights were redirected from Sunday morning.

One Shannon to Heathrow flight has also been cancelled while others are delayed.

Aer Lingus and Ryanair have also axed a number of flights from Ireland to London and Birmingham following the snowfall in the UK. Flights from Cork and Belfast to Heathrow have also been affected.