Snow plays the Grinch again this Christmas in Europe, UK

Snow creates havoc in air travel again this year in Europe, as many flights were halted or canceled due to heavy snowfall in the U.K. and several other parts of Europe.

Two thousand people have been stranded at Paris' Charles de Gaulle, media reports stated, as snow fall hits France, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.

The Charles de Gaulle airport canceled about 50 percent of its flights due to a shortage of de-icing fluid.

We're expecting shortly to receive 12 tons of de-icing fluid from the United States, delivered by plane, and there are truckloads arriving from Germany, as well, a spokeswoman for Aeroports de Paris, which operates the Paris airports, told the New York Times.

The snow this week has been unusually gluey, requiring twice as much de-icing as is normally the case, leading to the shortage, she added.

In the meanwhile, London's Heathrow airport is just getting back to normal conditions after being stranded under heavy snow since Saturday.

The airport, which is one of the largest in the world, saw several thousand passengers stranded and camping at the airport as both the airport as well as train services connecting the airport were closed after heavy snowfall over the weekend.

Luggage trays were used as makeshift beds and terminals were turned into temporary dormitories over the week, media reports stated.

This is the second time Heathrow has seen such heavy snow fall, forcing it to close down. Britain faced its first white Christmas in 2009 after nearly 5 years.

In February this year, Britain saw the heaviest snowfall in 18 years, causing the airport and bus services to shut down, as well as the cancellation of more than 650 flights.

The BAA, who operates the airport, is facing severe criticism about the manner in which the delays were handled.

The Spanish-owned operator announced an inquiry into the 'planning, execution and recovery' surrounding the disruption at Heathrow, BAA Chief Executive Colin Matthews said, AFP reported.

Other European nations are also reporting conditions of snowfall resulting in public transport services being canceled during the week. Brussels airports were experiencing severe problems, while the Eurostar, the EU's train service, warned of cancellations and delays on its service connecting Paris, London and Brussels.

Separately, the floating city of Venice in Italy was facing unusually high water levels. Italian officials were moving people from their homes due to the high river levels, according to a report from the BBC.

Venice saw the worst floods in 20 years in December 2008, and has been constantly been subject to severe flooding due to bad weather and the tide coming in to the Venice lagoon from the Atlantic.

Questions remain to be answered once the piles of snow have been ploughed and the flights resume about why five inches of snow can hamper an airport, a commentator on NPR said.

In every airport building in Europe millions in high tech equipment was humming along trying to stop terrorists and yet apparently no one had figured out how to manage the technology necessary to cope with a regular, predictable occurrence of Mother Nature, David Rothkopf said in a report on NPR.

Snowfall is a common factor during the holiday season in Europe and the U.K. Yet several reports of planes, trains and buses being canceled, leaving passengers stranded at the airport have become common over the past few years.

U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron said he was frustrated by BAA's handling of the disruption and at one point offered military assistance to the operator, which BAA declined, AFP reported.