The wintry weather caused problems for public transportation on Wednesday with freezing rain and hail. In addition to the cancellation of flights at Munich Airport There were also disruptions to Bavarian railway traffic and accidents on mirrored roads. Weakness is also expected in the evening and at night.
Because of the danger of icing from freezing rain, planes were temporarily unable to take off and land at Munich Airport. An airport spokesman told dpa that around 150 flights had been canceled and 26 diverted.
The airport staff was working in the winter temperatures with 150 snow removal vehicles and 160 employees. “There are no compromises when it comes to safety,” the spokesperson said. “If it continues to rain on it, we can’t open the path.” Flights have been diverted to Stuttgart, Vienna, Nuremberg and more. There, winter duty personnel were also busy clearing runways and de-icing planes in the afternoon.
In the afternoon, the airport operator announced that at least some landings were possible again. The airport spokesperson said that at first, only the northern runway was released, and then only the southern runway. Only in the evening can both runways be fully liberated again.
Due to the black ice, train traffic was also stopped on some routes
Deutsche Bahn has also had to completely stop regional traffic between Munich and Buchlo at times because of the weather. Many of the regional trains operated by the Go-Ahead Railroad are stranded by black ice, some even on the open line. “Currently we can only maintain operations on the Memmingen – Lindau route and have had to temporarily suspend all other routes,” a statement from Go-Ahead said. The British company only started operations in Swabia when the schedule changed last Sunday.
The sometimes mirrored streets also posed hazards to cars, cyclists, and pedestrians. The zoo in Augsburg closed due to slippery weather conditions and broken ice, and the city of Munich closed its cemeteries. A city spokesman confirmed that “mourning and burial ceremonies are taking place.” Mourners will be picked up by cemetery staff at their main entrance, escorted to the mourning hall and burial place, and returned to the exit. The Munich Fire Brigade wrote on Twitter: “Please avoid unnecessary trips and walks.”
Upper Bavaria and Swabia were particularly affected by the icy winter weather. In Lower Bavaria, the police reported 20 incidents with five injuries in the afternoon. Traffic delays also occurred due to vehicles getting stuck in the snow and parking on the other side. More disruptions are expected during the evening.
Police also recorded several accidents due to slippery roads on Autobahn 9 in northern Upper Bavaria. A spokesman said this afternoon that most of the damage was to the body. “It’s been very quiet on the streets all day and we haven’t had any incidents so far,” a spokesman for the police headquarters in the southern state of Upper Bavaria said this afternoon. The drivers would have taken the cautions first.
Meanwhile, the German weather service warned of black ice in the coming days. Icy winter weather and slippery roads are expected, especially in the Augsburg region and near the Alps.
