Scotland bore the brunt of the bad weather which has dogged Britain for the last week.

Temperatures fell to minus 15 degrees Celsius (five Fahrenheit) in some parts of Scotland Wednesday night and airports including Glasgow warned of possible delays and cancellations.

Passengers were advised to check with their airline before travelling to the airport.

On Wednesday, a Ryanair passenger jet with 127 people on board skidded off the runway at Prestwick airport, west of Glasgow, after hitting ice.

Meanwhile, motorists group the Automobile Association warned people across Britain to delay travelling unless it was vital.

"Extremely difficult travel conditions persist across many parts of the UK as millions of drivers, who have not yet done so, travel to family and friends for Christmas," its president Edmund King said.

"Many roads today are expected to be very busy and dangerous due to snow and black ice. If drivers can reasonably delay any non-essential trips until Christmas Day or Boxing Day, the weather and traffic should be better."

Forecasters the Met Office have issued severe weather warnings of "widespread icy roads" for much of England, Wales and Northern Ireland, although milder weather is moving in in some parts.

"Conditions are very challenging," said David Grunwell of the Highways Agency, which is responsible for gritting motorways and major roads. "We have got a variety... across the whole of the country.

"The key is for travellers to note the conditions before they set out and expect them to change."

Two women died in Cornwall, southwest England, Tuesday when a bus crashed in icy conditions.

Budget airline easyJet cancelled 16 services on Thursday, while London Heathrow airport warned of "some disruption". Passengers travelling to Stansted airport were advised to allow extra time for their journeys.

The Eurostar rail service linking Britain and mainland Europe, which suffered days of chaos earlier in the week when its trains were affected by snow, was running to a "modified timetable".

Passengers with tickets for Thursday were told to arrive an hour before their original departure time, while those with tickets from any day between Saturday and Wednesday were reassured they "will be able to travel".

Eurostar said it would run a "near normal" service with more than 90 percent of trains running on Saturday and Sunday, when many Britons use it to travel to ski holidays in the French Alps.

A spokeswoman said Eurostar hoped its service would get fully back to normal "as soon as possible."

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