Thousands of tourists are stuck in Santa’s hometown because of minus 37 degrees Celsius

Extreme cold in northern Finland caused flights at Kittila airport to be canceled for several consecutive days from January 11. On January 14, the icy situation continued to affect aviation and traffic activities in the area, the temperature was measured at the lowest level this winter.

According to Finnish national radio and television station Yle, on the morning of January 11, the temperature at Kittila airport dropped to minus 37 degrees Celsius. The Finnish Meteorological Institute reported that icy conditions continued this week, at times the temperature could reach nearly minus 40 degrees Celsius.

Kittila Airport is one of the important air gateways bringing international tourists to Lapland, a sparsely populated area north of the Arctic circle. The destination is globally famous for its image as Santa’s hometown, winter resorts, ski resorts and aurora viewing activities. The end of the year and the beginning of the year are peak tourism times in this area.

The strong cold air that descended on Northern Europe has caused aviation activities here to almost paralyze. Lower temperatures cause technical systems and ground processes to malfunction. Aircraft de-icing, refueling and maintenance work cannot be performed normally, forcing authorities and airlines to cancel a series of flights to ensure safe operations.

According to Finavia, the Finnish airport management unit, many devices are not designed to operate continuously in conditions below minus 30 degrees Celsius. When the temperature drops deeply, the de-icing solution loses its effectiveness, the hydraulic and fuel systems are susceptible to problems, increasing the risk of unsafety if trying to take off.

As a result, thousands of tourists were unable to leave Lapland as scheduled. Many flights connecting Kittila with major European cities such as London, Manchester, Bristol, Paris and Amsterdam were canceled or delayed. At the station, tourists line up to exchange tickets, find temporary accommodation or contact the airline to update the new schedule.

Some tourists said they received notice of trip cancellation just a few hours before departure time. Most had to return to hotels, leading to accommodation facilities around the ski resort and town center being booked full. Some passengers tried to travel by road to other airports in northern Finland such as Oulu or Rovaniemi, but travel was also difficult because of icy roads and poor visibility.

The extreme cold also widely affected many areas in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. Heavy snowfall, strong winds and ice caused traffic disruption in many countries. In Germany, the railway system in some northern states had to temporarily suspend operations, causing long delays and cancellations. Some states had to suspend students from in-person classes and switch to online learning due to the risk of traffic accidents.

In the Baltic region, Estonian and Lithuanian authorities advised people to postpone non-essential trips because of forecasts of blizzards and strong winds. Latvia also issued a dangerous weather warning for the western region of the country.

According to meteorological experts, Lapland has harsh winters, but temperatures near minus 40 degrees Celsius have been considered rare in recent years. The cold air from the Arctic spreading deep into Europe is believed to be the main cause of widespread frost, strongly impacting traffic, tourism and daily activities.

Finnish officials said airports and airlines are closely monitoring weather developments and coordinating to reschedule flights and support stranded passengers. However, the restoration of aviation operations in Lapland depends entirely on whether temperatures increase to a safe level (above minus 20 degrees Celsius) in the coming days.