Berlin airport halves arrivals as winter weather hits German travel

Winter weather with snowfall, sleet and freezing rain caused disruption to air and rail transport in large parts of Germany on Sunday.

Germany’s Berlin Brandenburg Airport halved the number of arrivals on Sunday evening due to the threat of sleet, a spokeswoman told dpa.

Only 20 planes, down from 40 per hour, were to be allowed to land in the German capital to ensure the safe handling of the aircraft, she said.

The spokeswoman said there may also be delays due to the weather, but take-offs will not be affected by the restrictions.

Meanwhile, Germany’s busiest airport in Frankfurt saw 120 of 1,090 flights scheduled for Sunday cancelled, a spokesman for airport operator Fraport told dpa.

As runways needed to be cleared and visibility was reduced, the airport’s capacity was limited, he said.

Additionally, the de-icing of aircraft was taking longer due to the weather conditions, he added.

The spokesman advised passengers to check with their airline regarding their flights and, if necessary, to allow extra time for the journey to the airport.

Fraport had already warned of possible flight cancellations due to the weather conditions.

Train services in the Frankfurt area were also experiencing disruptions due to the winter weather, rail operator Deutsche Bahn reported on Sunday.

The disruptions were causing significant delays as well as partial and complete cancellations of trains.

By midday, operations were largely back to normal, with only occasional delays reported by the railway company.

Long-distance services passing through Frankfurt were primarily affected, with some individual InterCity Express (ICE) trains stopping at Frankfurt South station instead of the main station as a substitute.

According to the Deutsche Bahn’s press office, other regions in Germany were only indirectly affected. The railway operator advised all travellers to check their connections before starting their journeys.

Stuttgart airport in the south-west of the country reported delays as planes had to be de-iced before take-off, an airport spokeswoman said on Sunday morning.

Seven flights were delayed, she said, adding that the runway had already been cleared and was ready for operations.

Landings had already taken place in the morning, she said.

She called on people looking to pick up travellers from the airport to check online when a flight was due to land, pointing to possible delays due to the winter weather also affecting other airports.

Operations at Munich airport were also disrupted due to snow and ice, an airport spokesman said on Sunday morning.

According to the airport’s website, some flights due to take off in the morning had been cancelled.

Over the course of the morning, operations had largely returned to normal, the spokesman said later.

Airlines already took the decision to cancel the flights on Saturday night as a precautionary measure, he had said earlier.

One runway was kept open while the other was being cleared, he added.

Reduced visibility due to snowfall led to longer intervals between take-offs and landings, while aircraft also needed to be de-iced, according to the spokesman.