Munich Snowstorm Grounded Planes And Trains

Passengers are being urged by Munich Airport to remain at home until they get confirmation that their flight is operating.

Heavy snowfall has forced the cancellation of most flights at Munich Airport, Germany's second busiest airport. Similarly, trains entering and leaving the city are also greatly delayed.

Passengers are being advised by the airport to remain at home until they get confirmation that their aircraft will take off. According to the airport, they are unsure of the duration of the disturbance.

On Saturday, the airport in Munich was closed because of the severe snowfall. The situation is gradually getting better, with one runway reopening yesterday and another this morning. Unfortunately, over 25% of today's flights are no longer operating. A total of 230 flights out of 840 planned for today have been cancelled.

Similarly, for the next two days, the airport's Christmas fair will not be open to the public.

The same thing happened last year at Munich Airport, when 133 flights had to be cancelled because the runway was iced.

In order to stay updated on their flights, travellers are being advised by the airport and airlines to visit their respective websites and mobile applications. It is suggested that travellers wait to go to the airport until they have received confirmation on the flight's itinerary.

Deutsche Bahn also warns that travelling into or out of Munich is not recommended. Unfortunately, the terrible weather has as well had a significant effect on train traffic.

The major rail station in Munich, Hauptbahnhof, only runs a handful of long-distance trains. German Railways (DB) has asked its customers to delay their travel plans until tomorrow (the 5th of December).

However, train passengers have some privileges. If passengers choose to reschedule their journeys from 2-4 December because of bad weather, they may do so at a later date using their ticket.

Changing the booked route to another one that still gets you to your destination is also an option. Seat bookings, however, are allowed to cancel at no cost. Passengers may also be eligible for a refund if they are unable to reschedule their journey.

Track conditions are anticipated to improve progressively over the next several days, although they are still affecting S-Bahn and regional trains in the Munich area.

Innsbruck and Salzburg in Austria, and Zurich in Switzerland, remained unconnected to the state capital. It was anticipated that these services will return on Tuesday. DB said that other regions of Germany might see train cancellations or delays as a result of the cold weather.

 

Source: euronews.com