Fog lifts, airport chaos easing

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LONDON, England (CNN) -- Relief was in sight for trapped passengers at Heathrow Saturday after dense, freezing fog led to more than 1,000 canceled flights at Europe's busiest airport.

Heathrow managing director Mark Bullock said travelers can expect about 74 canceled flights and delays Saturday but added "we're very optimistic that we'll have a better day today."

All canceled flights are either domestic or short-haul European destinations, a London Heathrow Airport statement said. Long-haul and overseas flights have not been affected.

The busy airport was at its worst Thursday when it canceled 370 flights. On Saturday Bullock said "weather forecasters tell us that the clouds will lift during the day."

By mid-afternoon the fog had largely lifted. British Airways, which has suffered the bulk of the cancellations, resumed all domestic flights from Heathrow at midday.

BA earlier said it hoped to run 95 percent of services on Saturday and a full service on Sunday, Christmas Eve.

"The weather certainly has cleared up. There have been only about 74 cancellations at the moment," a spokesman for airports operator BAA told Reuters.

Several hundred people slept in the terminals Friday night. In order to alleviate the backlog BA has been using larger planes for some short-haul European flights. Bullock added that buses have also been transporting holiday travelers to their destinations.

"The issue for us this week has been to deal with passenger's problems in the best way we can," Bullock said.

CNN's Alphonso Van Marsh contributed to this report

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