The wintry weather caused problems in public transport on Wednesday with freezing rain and cold. In addition to the flight cancellations at Munich Airport, there were also disruptions in Bavarian rail traffic and accidents on mirror-smooth roads. Impairments are also to be expected in the evening and at night.
Due to the risk of ice from freezing rain, planes were temporarily unable to take off and land at Munich Airport. Around 150 flights were canceled and 26 were diverted, a spokesman for the airport told the German Press Agency.
The airport crew was on duty in the wintry temperatures with 150 snow clearing vehicles and 160 employees. “There are no compromises when it comes to safety,” the spokesman said. “If it keeps raining on it, we can’t open the track.” Flights were diverted to Stuttgart, Vienna and Nuremberg, among others. There, winter service employees were also busy clearing lanes and de-icing aircraft in the afternoon.
In the afternoon, the airport operator announced that at least some landings were possible again. Initially, only the northern runway was released again, then only the southern one, said the airport spokesman. Only in the evening could both runways be fully released again.
Due to black ice, train traffic is also halted on some routes
The Deutsche Bahn also had to completely stop regional traffic between Munich and Buchloe at times due to the weather. Several regional trains operated by the Go-Ahead railway company were stranded because of the black ice, some even on the open line. “We can therefore currently only maintain operations on the Memmingen – Lindau route and had to temporarily suspend all other routes,” said a statement from Go-Ahead. The British company only started operations in Swabia when the timetable changed last Sunday.
The sometimes mirror-smooth streets also posed dangers for cars, cyclists and pedestrians. The zoo in Augsburg closed due to slippery conditions and broken ice, and the city of Munich closed its cemeteries. “Mourning ceremonies and burials are carried out,” emphasized a city spokesman. Mourners would be picked up by cemetery staff at the respective main entrance, escorted to the mourning hall and burial place, and brought back to the exit. The Munich fire brigade wrote on Twitter: “Please avoid unnecessary trips and walks.”
Upper Bavaria and Swabia were particularly affected by the icy winter weather. In Lower Bavaria, the police reported 20 accidents with five injuries in the afternoon. There were also traffic delays due to vehicles stuck in the snow and standing across. Further impairments are to be expected in the course of the evening.
The police also recorded several accidents due to slippery roads on Autobahn 9 in northern Upper Bavaria. But it was mostly body damage, said a spokesman in the afternoon. “It’s been very quiet on the streets, the whole day, we’ve hardly had any accidents so far,” said a spokesman for the police headquarters in Upper Bavaria South in the afternoon. The drivers would have taken the warnings first.
Meanwhile, the German Weather Service warned of black ice for the coming days. Icy winter weather and slippery roads are to be expected, especially in the Augsburg area and near the Alps.