Northern Europe's big freeze wreaked more havoc today as some airports failed to cope with the snow and retailers struggled to make up lost sales in the few shopping days left before Christmas.
More planes got off the ground than on Monday, but for thousands of travellers hoping to get home or away for Christmas, delays and cancellations were widespread.
Eurocontrol, which oversees air traffic control across 38 countries, said it expected more services to operate after about 3,000 flights across Europe were cancelled yesterday.
Europe's weather woes are having far reaching implications, with Kenya warning it was likely to miss its 2010 tourism forecasts as a result of the flight disruption.
With more snow forecast, there was little Christmas cheer for those camped at London's Heathrow Airport waiting for flights or queuing for cross-channel Eurostar trains in sub-zero temperatures outside central London's St Pancras station.
With airlines feeling the growing cost of the chaos, European Union transport chief Siim Kallas said he was considering forcing airports to provide a minimum level of infrastructure support during severe weather.
Heathrow looked more like a refugee camp with angry and frustrated passengers camping in departure halls as they awaited information on delayed or cancelled flights.
BAA, owned by Spain's Ferrovial, which runs the world's busiest international airport, said it was operating at much reduced capacity as the south runway remained closed.
However, prime minister David Cameron, whose coalition government has come under fire for its response to the extreme weather, told a news conference the runway would reopen today evening.
Transport secretary Philip Hammond said BAA had turned down an offer of army assistance to clear the snow.
"We've offered them troops today if they need additional manpower here to clear snow...we can offer them military support to do that, but the airport authority says, in fact, they have plenty of manpower to do this work," he told Sky News.
British Airways said it expected a significant number of cancellations to its shorthaul services from Heathrow, the carrier's main hub.
London's Gatwick Airport, which closed overnight due to renewed snowfall, re-opened today but passengers were told to expect further disruption, delays and cancellations.
Flights to and from Frankfurt airport, continental Europe's biggest, resumed this morning after the airport was shut for several hours overnight.
Operator Fraport said it aimed to return to normal flight operations as quickly as possible but delays continued.
German flagship airline Lufthansa said it expected to resume an almost normal flight schedule tomorrow, with all international flights back on track other than those to destinations such as Heathrow which cannot be reached.
German rail operator Deutsche Bahn said it would add extra train service from Wednesday to cope with a surge in demand due to air travel disruptions. Deutsche Bahn board member Berthold Huber said the added service would stay in place until December 31st.
Hundreds of travellers were left stranded on trains between London and the northeast of England after damage to overhead power lines brought services to a halt.
With most festive shopping done in the two weeks before Christmas, European retailers are worried they are running out of time to make up lost ground.
Analysts see retailers focused on low margin, non-food, gifts, such as CDs and books, as the most vulnerable.
Heavy snow on the last Saturday before Christmas meant the number of shoppers visiting British stores was down by almost a quarter on the previous year, market researcher Synovate said.
"At a time when retailers were looking to play catch up, after the snowfall at the start of the month, the latest turn in the weather has dealt another cruel blow", Synovate's Tim Denison said.
Agencies