Travelers stranded in Frankfurt and Munich: Flights, trains cancelled

Thursday, January 18, 2024

Germany’s ice halts 680 Frankfurt flights, disrupts trains; Norway’s snow shuts Oslo Airport, strands passengers. Widespread travel chaos ensues.

Central and southern regions of Germany faced severe travel disruptions on Wednesday as freezing rain grounded hundreds of flights and interrupted train services. Frankfurt Airport, one of the largest in Germany, had to cancel all flights in the early afternoon due to challenges in de-icing aircraft. Although operations later resumed on a limited basis, the airport spokesperson reported ongoing uncertainty.

Oslo Airport in Norway also experienced closures due to substantial snowfall but has since reopened, albeit with significant delays causing inconvenience for numerous passengers. Frankfurt Airport saw around 680 cancellations out of 1,047 scheduled arrivals and departures, while Munich Airport canceled 254 flights. Saarbruecken Airport in southern Germany shut down entirely.

The situation in Norway was described as “extremely rare” by an Avinor spokesperson, with snow so heavy that airport operations were halted as pilots were unable to see ground lights.

Travelers faced considerable stress and disruptions to their plans. Klaus Ludwig Fess, stranded in Frankfurt, resorted to taking a train to Berlin after multiple flight cancellations. In Oslo, several travelers weren’t able to reach the airport for their return trip due to train cancellations from the city center.

Deutsche Bahn, Germany’s rail operator, also issued warnings about delays and cancellations, reducing the speed of its high-speed ICE trains to 200 kph (124 mph) as a safety measure. Services from Stuttgart and Frankfurt to Paris were canceled, affected by adverse weather conditions in France, where warnings for black ice and floods were issued in several regions.

Norwegian train services were also impacted, particularly in the east, as reported by Bane Nor. German weather services predicted continued extreme risks of black ice and heavy snowfall through Thursday in the affected areas. Many schools in central and southern Germany remained closed, suspending in-person classes for the day.

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