Snow misery ahead of Six Nations opener
NEWS: Welsh rugby fans trying to get to Paris for the opening Six Nations match on Friday face being stranded after flight cancellations due to heavy snow.
Disruptions to flights from airports in Cardiff and Bristol left queues of fans facing a race against time to get to France ahead of the kick-off at 20.00 GMT (21.00 local) at the Stade de France.
Former Wales captain and BBC pundit Sam Warburton was one of the passengers due to fly on the cancelled 09.30 flight from Cardiff Airport to Charles de Gaulle.
“A few of the guys went over yesterday from Bristol,” he told BBC Wales. “I was doing some work last night for the BBC so we knew we would be cutting it fine this morning, but I am sure we will all be fine.”
Bristol Airport said on its Twitter page: “Disruption to flights is expected to continue into the afternoon as a result of ongoing snowfall at Bristol Airport. Our teams continue to work hard to clear snow from the airfield.”
Wales women’s team were caught up in the cancellations. They were due to fly from Bristol on Friday ahead of their own opening Six Nations game against defending champions France in Montpellier on Saturday.
A spokeswoman confirmed the team had now booked an early flight on the morning of the match from Heathrow Airport.
Rugby fan Leon Brown said he was due to fly out of Bristol, in southwest England, but had received a text to say his flight had already been cancelled.
He said he was now looking to sell his two match tickets, adding: “We did look at the Eurostar. Should never had sold my 4×4. I would have driven.”
Lisa Marie Brown, from Cardiff, was also due to fly out from Bristol with her husband but said she will now be watching the game on television from home.
Agence France-Presse
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