As overnight snow ended a recent thaw, British business leaders said the worst winter in decades was costing the country hundreds of millions of pounds (dollars) a day.

London's Gatwick airport was closed for snow clearance for most of the day, holding up a flight carrying 64 rescue specialists bound for Haiti with 10 tonnes of equipment.

"Priority is being given to flight departures, with some limited arrivals. There are significant delays and cancellations," the airport added, while London City, Birmingham, Cardiff and Southampton airports also reopened.

London Heathrow airport reported the cancellation of nearly 300 flights.

"Our airfield team is working round the clock to keep both runways clear but the threat of further snow and ice at the airport remains," the world's busiest international passenger air hub said.

There was similar disruption for air travellers in France.

In Paris, the main Charles de Gaulle airport cancelled 15 percent of its afternoon flights, having scrapped 40 percent in the morning, while at Orly airport, traffic was reduced by 50 percent due to snow and sleet.

French aviation authorities said the disruption was compounded by an air traffic controllers' strike which is due to continue on Thursday.

Around half of flights into and out of Orly are expected to be cancelled because of the industrial action on Thursday, and around 15 percent at Charles de Gaulle, according to an airport source.

Air authorities advised travellers with tickets for Thursday to contact their airline before going to the airport.

The French national weather service said icy conditions had gradually improved in the north of the country, while traffic was back to normal by noon in most areas, according to the National Road Information Centre.

Trucks were banned from entering Paris until noon in a bid to ease the traffic problems caused by the snow.

The French Agriculture Minister Bruno Le Maire said the government would help farmers, including milk and fruit and vegetable producers, affected by the bad weather.

French dairy farmers whose milk has not been collected during the freeze called for compensation.

Eurostar rail services between Britain and continental Europe were "running a near-normal service," though six trains were cancelled.

In Britain, the Federation of Small Businesses estimated that the bad weather was costing the economy at least 600 million pounds (975 million dollars, 670 million euros) a day.

"Small businesses have been particularly hard-hit during the recent bad weather, with staff unable to make it to work because of school closures and snowbound roads," said FSB chairman John Wright.

The Met Office national weather service said that a mixture of rain, sleet and snow across England and Wales was causing very icy conditions, and warned the situation may persist for several days.

In Germany, one of the countries worst hit by the big freeze, temperatures fell to minus six degrees Celsius, with fresh snow in the south, while some secondary roads in the north were still blocked.

Switzerland's main publicly-owned salt works said it had turned down new orders from the Netherlands and Germany in order to supply booming domestic needs.

Heavy snow on the runway forced Geneva airport to open several hours late on Wednesday morning, delaying around 30 flights.

In Iberia, temperatures were on the rise again in Spain, but nearly all of Portugal was put on orange alert for high winds and heavy rain expected Wednesday.

A month of heavy rainfall has seen nearly all of Portugal's reservoirs fill up, with the Alqueva dam -- which holds back Europe's largest artificial lake -- reaching its maximum capacity for the first time since it was built in 2002.

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