Frankfurt airport cancels flights amid icy winter weather
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Flag carrier Lufthansa advised passengers to confirm that their flights were still scheduled before setting off for airports.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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FRANKFURT – Freezing weather in Germany and other parts of Europe is threatening to cause widespread road, rail and flight disruptions, as the region braced itself for heavy snowfall and heavy ice build-up.
Severe winter weather warnings prompted the cancellation of hundreds of flights on Jan 17 at Frankfurt airport, Germany’s busiest, where the temperature had fallen to minus 2 deg C.
A Frankfurt airport spokeswoman said 570 of 1,047 flights had been axed from the schedule, as Germany’s business capital prepares for dramatic weather conditions.
Munich airport also warned of “significant restrictions in flight service” due to inclement weather, with 250 of 650 scheduled flights cancelled.
Flag carrier Lufthansa advised passengers to confirm that their flights were still scheduled before setting off for airports.
“I’ve had nothing but stress since yesterday,” said Mr Klaus Ludwig Fess, standing in a departure lounge at Frankfurt airport. He said both his initial flight and his rebooked one had been cancelled.
“Now, I’m taking the train to Berlin,” he said.
Rail operator Deutsche Bahn said snow and ice could cause delays and train cancellations, and limited the maximum speed of its high-speed ICE trains to 200kmh.
Germany’s national weather service warned of “extreme freezing rain danger” in the south-west. The authorities have advised drivers not to venture out.
Low pressure system Gertrud bearing down on south-western and central Germany promised up to 40cm of snow and treacherously icy road conditions, particularly in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg.
State police there reported an “accumulation of accidents” on roads near Baden-Baden.
Icy temperatures have been dominating northern Europe for the past few days. The cold is set to intensify in Germany and parts of France until Jan 20.
France’s weather service warned on its website of black ice in 25 regions and floods in three other areas.
Britain, meanwhile, experienced its coldest January night since 2019 on Jan 16, when temperatures fell as low as minus 14 deg C, the BBC reported, citing the Met Office.
Sweden’s national forecaster issued orange and yellow weather warnings for parts of the west and the east coast as an “intense low pressure system” sweeps in from the west, bringing heavy snow.
Milder weather is forecast to take over from Jan 21. Next week, temperatures in London, Paris and Frankfurt are expected to hit highs of more than 10 deg C, well above usual levels for the season.
Germany’s fresh transport woes come just a week after a three-day nationwide rail strike.
That action had coincided with a wave of protests by farmers, who blocked roads and highways across the country to vent their anger over the government cutting subsidies. AFP, BLOOMBERG
