Many air travelers need patience again today: Due to freezing rain, there will be no take-offs and landings at Munich Airport until midday. At least 150 takeoffs and 160 landings are affected.
As announced, Munich Airport has suspended its flight operations in the morning. All surfaces were iced over due to freezing rain, said a spokesman for the dpa news agency. There should therefore be no take-offs and landings from the start of operations at 6 a.m. to 12 p.m. According to the airport’s online arrival and departure schedule, all listed flights had been canceled or postponed to a later date.
At least 150 takeoffs and 160 landings are said to be affected. According to the airport, more than 770 departures and arrivals are planned for the day. The airport wants to use the first half of the day to de-ice the operating areas. The plan is to allow air traffic to start again from midday, the airport wrote on its homepage. “However, it can be assumed that a large number of flights will have to be canceled later in the day for safety reasons.”
Lufthansa is currently expecting restrictions on air traffic in Munich well beyond Tuesday. It is assumed that there will be significant restrictions for the rest of the week, a company spokesman told the German Press Agency in the evening. Customers with booked tickets to or from Munich would have the opportunity to cancel their ticket free of charge. This applies to tickets with a travel date up to December 9th.
1,500 passengers stranded so far
Passengers are strongly advised to contact their airline before traveling to the airport to inquire about the status of their flight. Because of the restrictions on air traffic due to the severe onset of winter in large parts of Bavaria, around 1,500 passengers have been stranded at Munich Airport since last Friday, the spokesman said.
Many apparently spent several nights at the airport. On the X platform, formerly Twitter, passengers complained that promised connecting flights had been canceled several times. Upon request, Munich Airport confirmed that passengers had stayed overnight in the terminals, “including some several times.”
Passengers without luggage
Munich is the second largest German airport and an important hub for international air traffic. Apparently mainly international passengers were stranded. Some X users had publicly complained about Lufthansa and said they had been stuck in Munich for the third day in a row, sometimes without luggage.
“Lufthansa will provide meals and hotel rooms free of charge to passengers whose onward flight is canceled due to the weather situation in Munich,” the statement said. If the contingent of several hundred rooms is fully booked, passengers would have the opportunity to book a hotel room themselves and the costs would be reimbursed.
“Nevertheless, several hundred passengers are staying overnight in the terminal,” a Lufthansa spokeswoman said in a statement. “Either because they don’t have a visa to enter the country, or because the guests are refusing the offer to book a hotel room.”
restrictions also in rail transport
Operations at Munich Central Station are still only possible to a very limited extent. Deutsche Bahn expects disruptions in Bavaria and effects nationwide until the middle of the week, especially in Baden-Württemberg and towards Switzerland.
According to the railway, long-distance trains from Munich towards Salzburg, Innsbruck or Zurich will not run today. Regional trains are also still canceled south of Munich.
According to the railway, tickets for travel to or from southern Germany for the period from December 2nd to 5th, which are actually tied to a specific train, can be used flexibly and the train tie has been lifted. Travelers were asked to postpone non-essential journeys until December 6th (Wednesday).
Christine Kerler, BR, tagesschau, December 5th, 2023 6:56 a.m