London Gatwick airport reopens, freeze goes on

Gatwick, Britain's second busiest airport, reopened on Friday after deep snow forced its closure as the country battled to function in the cold snap, but an airport official said flights would still be severely disrupted.
Commuters struggled to get to work and retailers fretted over delayed deliveries in the crucial pre-Christmas trading period.
Up and down the country there were reports of train passengers stuck on freezing trains, closed schools, car accidents on icy roads and lorries inching their way along snow-clogged motorways.
Gatwick airport reopened at 0600 GMT after being closed for three days, although a spokeswoman said to expect severe delays and cancellations.
"The conditions are still severe, but the guys on the ground managed to clear the snow and ice on the runway, so there will be limited flights as the day progresses," she said.
Britain's meteorological office said to expect less snow in the coming days than seen earlier in the week, but that very low temperatures and icy conditions would continue into the weekend.
Snow has caused travel chaos across much of northern Europe.
Days of sub-zero temperatures and snow in Britain are estimated to have cost the economy some 1.2 bln pounds ($1.9 bln) a day.
The disruptions have prompted widespread criticism of Britain's ability to handle bad weather, and the country's transport minister has ordered a review of how transport operations responded this week.