Heavy snow, gusts of wind, icy slopes. Northern Europe was hit today by a wave of bad weather which paralyzed transport, especially air transport, and created various inconveniences for travellers. Snow has blocked Manchester and Liverpool airports since early morning in England and Wales both located in the north of the country, which subsequently reopened their runways, but also urged passengers to contact airlines as delays may still occur. In Germany several airports have changed their flight times due to snowfall, freezing rain and poor visibility in the sky. Around 120 of the 1,090 takeoffs and landings scheduled for today were canceled at Germany’s largest airport in Frankfurt, located in the east of the country. In Munich, in the south of the country, 35 of the 750 scheduled takeoffs and landings were cancelled. Mid-Sunday afternoon, the German Meteorological Office lifted the weather warning.
Problems also in Holland. At Amsterdam Schiphol International Airport, a major European airport hub, 68 flights were canceled and more than 200 were delayed due to snow, the website reported. The cancellations mainly affected flights to European destinations, but several long-haul flights to the United States were also affected. Delays in northern European countries have caused a cascade of delays at Madrid and Barcelona airports. Heavy snowfall is expected in south-eastern Norway, although at the moment there are no major disruptions to air traffic. In Sweden, several train lines have been canceled due to cold weather in the north of the country and most of the country will be on yellow and orange alert on Monday.