Weather chaos grounds over 100 flights at Frankfurt airport

Heavy snowfall and icy conditions have caused chaos at Frankfurt Airport, resulting in the cancellation of over 100 flights on Monday and causing delays to many more as the winter weather continues to batter the region.

According to airport operator Fraport, 102 of the 1,052 scheduled flights were cancelled, and further disruption is possible as there is no sign of the conditions easing. The cancellations and delays have left large numbers of travellers stranded or facing prolonged waits at the airport, with many having to rebook and make alternative travel arrangements. Passengers were advised by airport authorities to arrive three hours ahead of departure and to expect last-minute delays and cancellations. Travellers were also urged to check flight statuses before heading to the airport.

Germany’s national weather service, the Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD), has issued severe weather warnings for black ice and snow across parts of Hesse, the state where Frankfurt lies.

Aside from air traffic disruption, Frankfurt Airport has warned that the SkyLine people mover between terminals 1 and 2 will be limited and that a bus replacement service will run instead due to icy track conditions.

Avrupadan described the situation in Germany on X as one where ‘snow and icing have brought life to a standstill’, warning of a ‘critical situation in air traffic’ and sharing images to illustrate the extent of the disruption.

Frankfurt is not alone in its struggle: severe winter weather has affected travel networks across Europe over the past week. Storm systems have forced cancellations at major hubs such as Amsterdam Schiphol, London Heathrow, and Paris Charles de Gaulle. Reports indicate hundreds of cancellations and over 2,400 delays across France, Germany, the UK, Finland, and Turkey.

Northern Finland’s Kittilä airport saw the cancellation of all flights on Sunday as the temperature plummeted to 37°C. Thousands of travellers remain stranded there, as extreme cold has made de-icing aircraft and ground operations impossible. The weather forecast predicted that temperatures would remain as low throughout Monday and even drop further to minus 40°C.

@fantomdancer

Snow finally arrived in Frankfurt ✌🏾

♬ Issa Snow Day – Nick Kosir

Last week, Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam set up hundreds of field beds and provided breakfast for 1,000 stranded passengers after cancelling 800 flights. Staff worked around the clock to clear the tarmac and ensure the safety of aircraft.

The disruption has also affected roads and rail. German rail operator Deutsche Bahn has suspended numerous services since Friday due to heavy snowfall, with delays persisting throughout the weekend, particularly on major high-speed routes, including Hannover – Frankfurt, Wolfsburg – Berlin, and Cologne – Frankfurt. In North Rhine-Westphalia, schools were closed on Monday and shifted to online learning, as hazardous road conditions made travel unsafe.

Meanwhile, drivers in Estonia and Lithuania were urged to limit travel to essential journeys only due to strong winds, and Latvia remained under a snow alert.