TORONTO - Debbie Thackray says that if she can't meet her family in Geneva for Christmas, she won't see them at all until next summer.
Thackray, a Briton studying at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont., planned to fly from Toronto to London's Heathrow airport on Sunday night, on her way to a family ski trip in Switzerland.
But her flight -- like many scheduled to go in and out of London and Europe -- was cancelled because of severe wintry weather that grounded thousands of travellers.
That left Thackray and her friend Antonia Jones scrambling to find new seats before Christmas.
Both found tentative flights late in the week, but said they still hoped to score earlier tickets.
"The whole reason for me going home now is for Christmas," Thackray said Monday at Pearson airport, waiting in line with about 50 other stranded travellers trying to negotiate earlier travel dates.
"If I wasn't able to get home before Christmas, I would've not gone home, probably, because it wouldn't be worthwhile," her friend added.
The pair returns to school in early January and won't get a chance to go home again until classes end in June, she said.
Most travellers at Pearson seemed weary and frustrated at times. But they kept their spirits up as they waited by trading stories of their attempts to re-book and talking about what awaited them at home.
The Greater Toronto Airports Authority said delays at Pearson weren't nearly as bad as those in Europe.
Overall, the situation "isn't that bad," especially for the holiday season, said spokeswoman Trish Krale.
Snow and freezing temperatures were causing travel chaos in Britain and much of Europe. Air Canada advised Europe-bound travellers to check its website for flight status before leaving for the airport.
Air Canada said it was only able to operate one-third of its normal schedule through Heathrow, with just six takeoffs and landings allowed Monday.
The airline planned five departures Monday from Heathrow to Canadian airports -- two to Toronto and one each to Halifax, Calgary and Vancouver.
Meanwhile, more than two days after Britain's last snowfall, some furious passengers with boarding passes for Monday flights were still not allowed into Heathrow. Inside, piles of garbage grew and some people slept on terminal floors.
Other travellers waited in the cold for up to six hours to get inside London's St. Pancras train station, where they had to wait still longer for Eurostar trains to mainland Europe.
British officials promised an inquiry into the failure to clear the remnants of a storm that dumped nearly 13 centimetres of snow over parts of England Saturday morning.
Other European airports rebounded from weekend snowfall and resumed close to normal flight schedules by Monday.
At Pearson's arrivals level, families cheered as long-awaited relatives -- passengers on a flight from Heathrow -- crossed the gate.
Natalie Worsfold and her sisters squealed with joy and rushed towards their father, Graham, finally home after spending three days stranded at Heathrow.
The family faced "a lot of uncertainty," not knowing whether he would make it back for Christmas, said Worsfold.
Although at least one of Graham Worsfold's bags didn't make it onto the flight, "he's home and that's all that matters," his daughter said.
Capt. Perry Braux, the pilot of the plane, described Heathrow as "a refugee camp" and said the chaos there was "very frustrating."
The snow that paralyzed London travel would be "a non-event if it happened here," he said.
Travellers elsewhere in Canada also faced travel headaches on Monday.
Ferry service between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland could be out of service for several days to avoid the latest storm system moving into the region, its operator said Monday.
Marine Atlantic said its vessels would be tied up on Monday for an estimated 72 hours because of a marine forecast calling for winds exceeding 100 km/h and seas of seven to nine metres.
If the weather plays out as expected, Marine Atlantic might not be able to move all 800 customers who have booked reservations prior to Christmas Day, said spokeswoman Tara Laing.
-- With files from The Associated Press
