Frankfurt Airport warns of cancellations ahead of winter storm

DPA
·1 min read
Terminal 1 at Frankfurt Rhine-Main Airport is bustling with passengers. Passenger traffic at Frankfurt Airport remained well below the level seen before the coronavirus pandemic, despite significant growth last year. Helmut Fricke/dpa
Terminal 1 at Frankfurt Rhine-Main Airport is bustling with passengers. Passenger traffic at Frankfurt Airport remained well below the level seen before the coronavirus pandemic, despite significant growth last year. Helmut Fricke/dpa

Frankfurt Airport is expecting numerous flight delays and cancellations in the coming days due to forecasts for snowfall and freezing rain.

Only severely restricted air traffic will be able to take place on Wednesday and Thursday at the airport, operating company Fraport announced on Tuesday.

Frankfurt Airport is Germany's largest and most important aviation hub and is among the busiest airports in Europe.

Passengers should look up information about their flights ahead of time and not come to the airport if flights are cancelled, the airport operator said.

Around 1,030 arrivals and departures are scheduled at Frankfurt Airport on Wednesday alone.

Airlines often cancel or rescheduled flights the day before in the event of severe weather warnings.

Safety is the top priority in air traffic, Fraport said.

In the event of heavy snowfall and freezing rain, crews may not be able to keep the runways free of snow and ice despite continuous winter maintenance, the company said.

Before a runway can be cleared, a safe coefficient of friction must first be proven through test runs.

A further potential issue from the weather is de-icing. The aerodynamic profile of the aircraft must not be impaired in any way by snow or ice.