Germany: Munich Airport resumes flights after heavy snowfall
Published December 3, 2023last updated December 3, 2023
Although operations have resumed at Germany's second-busiest airport, over 500 planned flights have been canceled. Severe winter weather is also impacting train travel in southern Germany.
The southern German state of Bavaria, including the city of Munich, was badly affected by the snowfallImage: Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa
Advertisement
Flight operations resumed at Munich Airport at 6 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) on Sunday after heavy snowfall ground air traffic to a halt, the operating company announced on its website.
Flights were suspended at the airport on Saturday amid the onset of severe winter weather across southern Germany.
The operating company said that although flights had now resumed, there would still be "restrictions in air traffic." It urged passengers to check the status of their flight with their airline "well in advance" before traveling to the airport.
Although operations are once again possible, a majority of the planned flights for Sunday have been cancelled, news agency dpa reported.
Out of around 880 flights planned for Sunday, some 560 have been cancelled, an airport spokesperson told dpa.
Train travel also disrupted
The large amount of snow, unusual so early in the season, paralyzed much of the state of Bavaria and its capital, Munich.
Snowstorms, winter weather halt traffic, flights in Germany
Cities across Germany are submerged in snow. The arrival of winter weather has delayed departures by air, road and rail.
Image: Peter Kneffel/dpa
Standstill on the tracks
A number of rail lines around Bavaria's state capital, Munich, were closed during the heavy onset of winter. In Ulm and Munich, stranded passengers spent Friday night in trains, with the Munich Central Station inaccessible for hours. National rail provider Deutsche Bahn said delays would last into Monday.
Image: Lukas Barth/dpa
Seasoned experts
For the narrow-gauge rail system in the central Harz mountain range, on the other hand, weather is rarely an issue. Here trains are still running, and even the line to the Brocken station, which, at 1,125 meters (3,690 feet) above sea level, is the country’s highest adhesion narrow-gauge railroad stop, has been cleared.
Image: Stefan Sobotta/TNN/dpa/picture alliance
Snowed under
Parking has become a major challenge in Munich, where many cars are now under a thick blanket of snow. With thousands of drivers stuck in traffic jams on the highways around the city, the national motorists association, ADAC, has recommended that drivers temporarily refrain from nonessential travel.
Image: dpa
Traffic chaos in Bavaria
The heavy snowfall and subzero temperatures have caused traffic jams, accidents and traffic chaos, especially in southern Germany. There were almost 100 traffic jams more than 10 kilometers long in Bavaria alone on Saturday morning, ADAC reported.
Image: Sven Hoppe/dpa/picture alliance
Frozen flight
Air traffic is also taking a forced break. At Munich Airport, flights were suspended until 6 a.m. on Sunday. Allgäu Airport in Memmingen also suspended flight operations on Saturday because of the persistent snowfall. According to Lufthansa, the planes were diverted to Frankfurt and Nuremberg.
Image: Joaquim Ferreira/picture alliance
Slippery conditions for cyclists
German law requires urban areas to distribute gravel on main roadways to keep conditions safe for cyclists, but it still takes a hardy sort to venture out on two wheels in such weather.
Image: Sven Hoppe/dpa/picture alliance
Too much for the trees
Snowfall weighs down tree branches along a country road in the central western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where first responders have been deployed to clear the path. Authorities have also warned people against walking in the woods to avoid falling branches.
Image: Kai Osthoff/dpa/picture alliance
Duty calls
Snow-clearing vehicles are likely to be deployed around the clock in the coming days, with up to 40 centimeters (16 inches) of fresh snow expected in places such as the mountainous southern Allgäu region over the weekend. Northern regions haven’t been spared, either. Hamburg reported 5 centimeters of fresh snow, with more expected along the North Sea and Baltic Sea coasts.
Image: Peter Kneffel/dpa/picture alliance
A big start
Skiers' joy was short-lived: Just one day after the start of the season, lift operations on the Zugspitze, Germany’s highest mountain, were suspended because of heavy snowfall and avalanche danger. But operations are expected to resume on Sunday with the return of the sun, though temperatures will remain chilly, the German Weather Service said.
Image: Peter Kneffel/dpa/picture alliance
Iced out
Temperatures dipped to -14 degrees Celsius (6 F) on the deserted Zugspitze on Saturday, and are predicted to drop even further on Sunday.
Image: Angelika Warmuth/dpa
A few flakes for Berlin
Even the German capital saw a modest amount of snow, with about 2,300 emergency workers called out to clear roads and keep traffic moving.
Image: Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty Images
11 images1 | 11
The city's main railway station was shut down for several hours on Sunday morning. Rail operator Deutsche Bahn said that some long distance trains were once again operating, but urged passengers who planned on traveling in the region on Monday to consider postponing their plans.
Helicopters are being used to check the tracks and fly along the routes, reported local public broadcaster Bayerische Rundfunk.
The broadcaster also reported the situation was "chaotic" on Sunday morning at Munich's main train station, with passengers standing in a line "several hundred meters long" seeking information.
At the height of the bad weather on Saturday, thousands of homes suffered power outages and scores of traffic accidents were reported on the state's roads. The heavy snowfall also increased the risk of avalanches in the Bavarian Alps.
