German airports, rail suffer disruptions due to winter weather

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

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

As runways need to be cleared and visibility is reduced, the airport's capacity is limited, he said.

Additionally, the de-icing of aircraft is 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. 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 rail press office, other regions in Germany are only indirectly affected. The railway advises 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 so far, she said, adding that the runway has already been cleared and is 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.

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

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.

It was initially unclear how long the weather-related restrictions would last. Travellers have been asked to contact their airline for information about their flights.