European airports – Ice causes flight cancellations to Vienna and Graz

The airlines’ decision to cancel flights was taken on Saturday “out of an abundance of caution”. Other airports in Germany, Switzerland and Great Britain were affected. In Vienna-Schwechat there were initially no problems.

One runway is currently open and the other is being cleared, it was said from Munich. In addition to the “capacity limitation”, there is also reduced visibility during snowfall, which increases the distances between departure and landing. According to the spokesperson, machines also need to be defrosted. It initially remained unclear how long the weather-related restrictions would last. Travelers should contact the airlines for more information about their flights. According to previous information, among the affected flights to Austria were an Air Dolomiti flight to Graz and an AUA flight to Vienna.

120 cancellations in Frankfurt
The winter weather with snowfall, sleet and sleet also caused restrictions at Frankfurt Airport. Of the 1,090 scheduled takeoffs and landings on Sunday, 120 were canceled, a spokesperson for airport operator Fraport said. According to the homepage, two flights to Vienna were also affected. Because runways need to be cleared and visibility is poor, the airport’s capacity is limited.

Defrosting the machines also takes longer due to the weather conditions. The spokesperson advised airline passengers to obtain more information from their airline about their flights and, if necessary, to allow more time for the journey to the airport. Fraport had already warned in advance of possible flight cancellations due to weather conditions.

Train traffic is also affected
The winter weather also has an impact on train traffic. “Due to the winter weather in the Frankfurt (M) region, there are currently disruptions in Deutsche Bahn’s long-distance services. This results in major delays and partial and cancellations of trains,” Deutsche Bahn said.

Because planes need to be de-iced, there were delays at Stuttgart airport on Sunday morning. An airport spokeswoman said seven planes had been delayed so far. The runway has already been cleared by winter services and is ready for use. According to the information, the landings took place early in the morning. Travelers need to know online when their plane arrives or departs.

Snow chaos also in Great Britain
Uncomfortable winter weather with heavy snow and freezing conditions also led to power cuts, road accidents and flight cancellations in Britain. On Sunday morning, airports in Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds temporarily closed their runways due to heavy snow. Some flights had to be diverted to other airports this weekend.

There was a power outage in the regions around Birmingham, Bristol and Cardiff on Saturday evening, British network operator National Grid announced. Weather warnings were in force in many parts of the UK and many roads were closed. Train traffic was also affected in some areas.

Switzerland was also affected
Snowfall and freezing rain also severely hampered air traffic at Zurich airport on Saturday evening. The problems lasted until Sunday morning. In total, more than 50 flights were cancelled. Forty flights were canceled on Saturday evening around 6:30 p.m., the airport control center reported upon request. There were another ten flight cancellations on Sunday.

While the weather caused problems on Saturday, there were ‘consequences’ on Sunday. For example, individual flight crews were missing because they were stuck at other airports due to weather conditions. All three scheduled flights to Vienna were able to depart on Sunday afternoon, albeit with a delay.