The biggest snowstorm to hit London in 18 years idled Britain's trademark red buses, stranding thousands of airline passengers and commuters, and raising a vexing question of why a predicted snowfall caught authorities so off-guard.

Transit officials had nearly a week to prepare, but they failed to keep a semblance of normalcy in the capital when more than four inches (10 centimeters) of snow fell overnight and another 4 inches fell Monday afternoon.

Londoners who needed to get somewhere often found they couldn't—unless they were willing to trudge for miles (kilometers).

"There's no point in going to work today," said office worker Caroline Samuel, 36, after waiting in vain for an Underground train that never arrived. "I'm going home."

The misery went far beyond London's aged Underground system.

All five of the capital's airports briefly shut down—with nearly 800 flights canceled throughout the day and thousands of passengers stranded. An international flight skid off a taxiway at Heathrow, causing no injuries.

The city's extensive bus network was completely closed for most of the day because of the snow and ice while many trains simply didn't run.

Roadways remained open, but colossal traffic jams occurred because of fender benders and serious accidents.

The message was clear: don't fly, drive, take buses, subways or trains—and don't expect to get anywhere fast.

Some people strapped on cross-country skies to get around, while others spent the day sledding or throwing snowballs with their kids.

Problems extended to France and Ireland as well, with airports in both countries reporting numerous delays and cancellations and motorists facing icy hazards.

Forecasters said snow would continue much of Monday evening and Tuesday, mixing rain and sleet overnight and leading to a potential repeat of Monday's rush-hour woes.

Mayor Boris Johnson conceded that the city lacked the snowmoving equipment it needed—mostly because buying the pricey equipment was a gamble when such snowfalls are rare in London.

The usually jokey, upbeat mayor said "the volume of snow was so huge" that the city's efforts to keep up were doomed and that skidding buses could become "a lethal weapon."

The mayor's official spokesman, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with department policy, denied Monday afternoon that concerns about insurance coverage led to the decision to keep the buses off the streets.

"It never got that far," he said. "It was a basic safety issue. It might have caused some inconvenience, but it's nothing compared to the damage that could be done by a 12-ton vehicle cruising over crushed ice. The roads weren't fit."

Richard Tracey, conservative leader on transport for the London Assembly, told the British Broadcasting Corp. that the bus company's willingness to deal with snow is different than in past years because of growing levels of health and safety legislation.

"I think the public are prepared to go out, but the bus drivers and the companies won't drive if there's even the tiniest risk of the bus skidding and people being injured," Tracey said. "Government legislation, European legislation and all that, that's what stops these things."

Former Mayor Ken Livingstone blasted the city's storm preparations. He said it had been more than a century since the city buses were idled.

The harsh conditions led to hundreds of school closures, and many courts shut down as well, including London's landmark Old Bailey. Hospitals remained open to deal with dialysis, cancer and emergency cases, but staffing levels were reduced.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the government was doing "everything possible" to keep transit systems operating.

Long lines of woebegone commuters trudged through the streets, looking for scarce taxis or ways to work in the snowfall.

Still, there were thousands who enjoyed the snow—particularly school children who spent the day building snowmen and having snowball fights in London's spacious parks, which took on a fairytale glow with fresh snow everywhere.

And there was plenty of sledding at London's Primrose Hill and in Greenwich Park, where many sped down the slopes at high speed, using kitchen trays, grill pans, and even plastic bags as makeshift sleds.

Many grabbed trays from a nearby cafe—but were politely told by a policewoman that they should return the borrowed items.

But those who enjoyed the day were those who didn't have to travel. Harried transport officials defended the system, despite the almost total breakdown of services Monday morning.

London's subway network was hard hit because much of the system is actually above ground—and when even one line gets shutdown it has a domino effect for all the others. A Transport for London spokesman said the agency must largely rely on London' local councils to grit roads—and that not all of the councils have the same level of ability to deal with a heavy snowfall.

"We're not in Russia here," said Guy Pitt, a press officer for the agency. "We don't have an infrastructure built for constant snow."

Heathrow closed one of its two runways and reported more than 650 cancellations. Major delays and cancellations were also reported at London's other major airports at Gatwick, Luton and Stansted. London's City Airport was closed.

An Airbus 330 coming from Cyprus slid off the taxiway at Heathrow with 104 passengers on board. Cyprus Airways spokesman Kyriakos Kyriakou said there were no injuries or damage. No other incidents were reported.

In Ireland, where some new arrivals were exposed to their first-ever glimpse of snowflakes falling, the snow enthralled Ubi Atogwe, who arrived in Dublin from Nigeria three years ago.

"I have never felt snow before," he said, holding out his tongue to catch a passing flake. "I have never tasted it before."
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