Frankfurt Airport re-opens after snow forces shutdown

Dec 22, 2009, 10:20 GMT

Frankfurt - Airlines struggled Tuesday to clear backlogs at Frankfurt Airport, Germany's aviation hub, after a seven-hour overnight lockdown where its runways were judged too icy to use.

Several days of snow and drastic cold had already hampered takeoffs and landings, with overworked ground crews constantly clearing falling snow and de-icing the wings of waiting aircraft, leading to cancellations when they could not keep up the pace.

Late Monday, safety inspectors said that despite chemicals and snowploughs, the runways were too slippery to use. At one stroke, 8,000 passengers found their nighttime departures cancelled.

Airport officials said more than 3,000 opted to sleep the night in the airport and 1,000 stretcher beds were set up for the neediest. The other 5,000 were offered accommodation in area hotels.

After ice clearance, all runways re-opened at 6 am, but the airport said it would take all day to clear the passenger backlog. The previous day, just one airline, Lufthansa, cancelled 250 Frankfurt departures and moved passengers to later flights.

German roads were also snarled by snow. A major highway, the A7 autobahn, was closed all morning near the northern city of Hildesheim after two articulated trucks skidded and overturned, blocking the road.