British Airways has apologised to passengers who have been stuck on planes at Heathrow as the snow delayed and cancelled hundreds of flights.
More than 400 flights were cancelled on Friday and some passengers were kept on board aircraft to use take-off slots as soon as they became available.
But passengers complained at being on board for several hours while others were unable to collect their luggage.
The airline said it was "doing all it could" it to help customers.
It warned of further delays on Saturday due to the backlog.
'Mildly hysterical'The freezing conditions forced the closure of a runway for de-icing, as the airport's usual number of 42 take-off and landing slots an hour was reduced to six at one point - and an average of just 26 for most of the day.
Priority for the slots was given to long haul flights whereas most BA services are short-haul, a spokesman said.
But passenger Ian Aitchison, who was due to fly to the US for a conference, said he was "mildly hysterical" about being on a plane for more than six hours before the flight was cancelled and he was then told he would be unable to get his luggage back.
Stranded Heathrow Terminal 5 passenger, Jerry Meng: ''This is absolutely crazy''
"We're trying to get our luggage back, of course, and BA have told us we can't have our luggage so all the suitcases are being held of all the people who are on the cancelled BA flights.
"So, I'm with a party of people here flying over to the US, and we're all trying to find ourselves hotels. We've not got our cases.
"It will be sent on alternative flights or you can arrange to have it sent to you through the website.
"It's pretty funny. To be honest I'm mildly hysterical... obviously there's a lot of people who are quite upset.
"Mostly people are just confused and dazed rather than shouting and swearing."
'It's miserable'He said airline staff had been very "polite and helpful" walking around talking to passengers but "the problem is that they don't know what's going happen next".
Jerry Meng, from Los Angeles, told BBC News he would be spending the night at the airport after his 11:00 GMT flight to New York was cancelled.
He said: "There are lots of bodies lying around in the airport. If feels like there's been a natural disaster.
"The staff have been helpful, they've been handing out blankets and water bottles.
"It's miserable - but that's nature. It's better to be safe and protect peoples' lives."
British Airways said customers who no longer wished to travel over the weekend could rebook their flight for a later date. Refunds and overnight accommodation were also being offered, or letters for customers to make a claim at a later date.
In a statement the airline said: "We are doing all we can to help our customers after freezing weather and snow caused significant disruption to our schedule [on Friday]."
"There will be knock-on disruption to services on Saturday and we are advising all customers to check the very latest status of their flight via ba.com before leaving for the airport and if their flight has been cancelled not to leave home.
"We are keeping our schedule under constant review and will adjust it further if we need to."
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