If you are planning to take a flight from Dublin Airport today the message is clear, call ahead. The snow has resulted in flight delays at Dublin Airport and customers have been urged to check their flight times before going to the airport.

It comes as motorists were being urged to drive with extreme care today after Met Eireann issued a weather warning for twelve counties.

Spokesperson for the DAA, Siobhan Moore, told the Examiner: “We have had heavy snowfalls here at Dublin Airport which resulted in the main runway becoming contaminated with snow.

“Once a friction test is carried out, and if it is deemed to be unreliable, then we must go out and sweep the runway and clear it of the snow that has fallen.

“That took about 30 minutes, flights operations were suspended during that time. Unfortunatley that does have a knock-on effect on the sdchedules so some flights have been affected as a result of that.”

Up to eight centimetres of snow is expected to fall in Dublin, Carlow, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Louth, Wexford, Wicklow, Meath, Donegal, Mayo, Cork, Kerry, Tipperary and Waterford.

Dozens of crashes have already been reported on the roads.