BAA has said it will invest up to £50 million to prevent a repeat of the snow chaos which disrupted thousands of passengers at Heathrow in the build up to Christmas 2010.

The announcement follows the publication of the Begg Winter Resiliance Report, which was launched in the aftermath of the incident.

Under the “resilience investment plan”, BAA will revise snow plans, while also investing in new equipment, increased staff resources and training

The proposals will be recommended to airlines and the Civil Aviation Authority in April.

BAA’s chief executive Colin Matthews, who commissioned the report, said: “Following December’s disruption, we invested in new equipment, people and training to enable us to respond better to snow in future.

“We are now putting together a comprehensive action plan to implement all 14 Begg recommendations.”

Systems for command and control and communication between the airport community (including airlines) and passengers will also be improved under the plan.

BAA chairman, Nigel Rudd, said: “We are encouraging our management team to dedicate all the necessary resources and engage positively with airlines and others to ensure that extreme weather conditions are better handled next time for the sake of passengers.”