Heavy snow, freezing rain hobble European travel

BERLIN: Severe winter weather in northern Europe prompted the cancellation of hundreds of flights on Wednesday at Frankfurt airport, Germany´s busiest, while heavy snow in Scandinavia shut down air travel in Oslo for several hours.

A Frankfurt airport spokeswoman said 570 of 1,047 flights had been axed by late morning as Germany´s business capital prepared for dramatic weather conditions. By early afternoon, all remaining departures were temporarily struck from the schedule due to the onset of freezing rain although landings were still possible, a spokesman said. It was not immediately clear how long the disruption would continue.

Munich airport also reported “significant restrictions in flight service” due to bad weather, with 250 of 650 scheduled flights cancelled. Oslo airport said it closed for several hours because of heavy snow, before reopening at 3:30 pm (1430 GMT). Most buses in the Norwegian capital were cancelled and train operator Vy announced the closure of routes in large parts of the east of the country.

In neighbouring Sweden, heavy snow led to multiple traffic incidents in western and southern parts, causing traffic jams along several key roads. “The road surface is reported to be very slippery and the police are urging the public not to go out on the roads unless absolutely necessary,” police said in a statement.

German flag carrier Lufthansa advised passengers to confirm that their flights were still scheduled before setting off for airports.