Forecast freezing rain is set to completely shut down one of Europe’s busiest airports for the second time in the space of only four days, as Munich Airport warned that all flights will be grounded on Tuesday until midday at the earliest.
The airport has experienced an awful few days after a year’s worth of snow was dumped on the airfield over the weekend, quickly bringing all operations to a halt, with hundreds of flights cancelled and many more delayed.
Snow ploughs had struggled to keep up as around 50 cm of snow accumulated on the airfield in less than 48 hours, but even after Munich Airport had managed to reopen, it was working at a reduced capacity due to the severe winter weather.
That disruption is set to continue, however, as metrologists sound the alarm over a forecast of freezing rain, which is expected to fall overnight.
With fears that the runways and taxiways could be turned into a supersized ice rink, a spokesperson for Munich Airport says it has decided to simply cancel all takeoff and landings from 6 am until midday at the earliest on Tuesday.
The airport said the freezing rain would make flight operations “impossible” and warned that even if flights are allowed to resume at midday, it should be assumed that the vast of flights for the rest of the day will still be cancelled.
On Monday, Munich Airport cancelled around 144 departing flights and 160 arriving flights. German flag carrier Lufthansa was unsurprisingly worst affected by the disruption and is warning passengers of the potential for disruption for several more days to come.
Passengers are being urged not to even bother travelling to airport unless they have confirmed that their flight is actually going to operate on Tuesday.
