Several flights slashed at Frankfurt airport due to icy conditions
Icy conditions caused delays and flight cancellations at Germany's largest airport on Monday, while elsewhere dangerous roads and school closures are leading to further disruption.
Large parts of Germany have been hit with black ice on Monday, as freezing rain on Sunday caused dangerous conditions in the west, northwest and centre of the country.
Frankfurt airport has been particularly severely affected by the bad weather conditions. Of the total of around 1,100 departures and arrivals planned for Monday, 176 had already been cancelled by the morning, according to an airport spokeswoman.
Passengers were asked to check for flight updates before coming to the airport and advised to go to the check-in desk as early as possible.
Flight operations have not been completely suspended, however. A so-called "approach control" has been in effect, with means that only a certain number of aircraft - fewer than usual - have been allowed to land each hour, the spokeswoman explained. For this reason, the northwest runway was closed in the morning.
READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: How to travel (without stress) in Germany this Christmas
The bad weather conditions come at a time when the airport is also struggling with staff shortages. Frankfurt Airport spokesman Dieter Hulick told the Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper last week that the current sickness rate of staff is at 15 percent. Verdi union secretary Uwe Schramm, pointed out that the ground handling services are "still not back to pre-Corona levels in terms of staffing".
Dangerous roads and school closures
As well as causing disruption to air travel, black ice is also leading to problems on the roads. Numerous accidents have been reported in Rhineland-Palatinate, Hamburg, North Rhein-Westphalia, Schleswig Holstein and Lower Saxony.
A 25-year-old driver was killed on Autobahn 27 near Walsrode-Hamwiede in Lower Saxony on Monday morning, as their car left the road due to icy conditions.
The treacherous conditions have led to numerous school closures too. Several districts and cities in Lower Saxony and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania closed all schools on Monday. There were also cancellations or distance learning in Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia and southern Germany.
Will the bad weather continue?
According to the German Weather Service (DWD), there will also be widespread black ice rain in the northeast and east of Germany in the course of the day on Monday.
READ ALSO: Frosty roads and 'icy rain': Cold spell continues in Germany
As the week continues temperatures are set to rise, but with the mild air also comes rain, which will cause icy conditions on the frozen-through soils.
The German weather service advises people to avoid staying outdoors as much as possible and for those who do have to travel by car on Monday to adjust their driving style, to fill up their tanks and take blankets and warm drinks with them.
Vocabulary
Black ice - (das) Glatteis
Dangerous - gefährlich
Frozen - eingefroren
Accident - (der) Unfall
We’re aiming to help our readers improve their German by translating vocabulary from some of our news stories. Did you find this article useful? Let us know.
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Large parts of Germany have been hit with black ice on Monday, as freezing rain on Sunday caused dangerous conditions in the west, northwest and centre of the country.
Frankfurt airport has been particularly severely affected by the bad weather conditions. Of the total of around 1,100 departures and arrivals planned for Monday, 176 had already been cancelled by the morning, according to an airport spokeswoman.
Passengers were asked to check for flight updates before coming to the airport and advised to go to the check-in desk as early as possible.
Flight operations have not been completely suspended, however. A so-called "approach control" has been in effect, with means that only a certain number of aircraft - fewer than usual - have been allowed to land each hour, the spokeswoman explained. For this reason, the northwest runway was closed in the morning.
READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: How to travel (without stress) in Germany this Christmas
The bad weather conditions come at a time when the airport is also struggling with staff shortages. Frankfurt Airport spokesman Dieter Hulick told the Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper last week that the current sickness rate of staff is at 15 percent. Verdi union secretary Uwe Schramm, pointed out that the ground handling services are "still not back to pre-Corona levels in terms of staffing".
Dangerous roads and school closures
As well as causing disruption to air travel, black ice is also leading to problems on the roads. Numerous accidents have been reported in Rhineland-Palatinate, Hamburg, North Rhein-Westphalia, Schleswig Holstein and Lower Saxony.
A 25-year-old driver was killed on Autobahn 27 near Walsrode-Hamwiede in Lower Saxony on Monday morning, as their car left the road due to icy conditions.
The treacherous conditions have led to numerous school closures too. Several districts and cities in Lower Saxony and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania closed all schools on Monday. There were also cancellations or distance learning in Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia and southern Germany.
Will the bad weather continue?
According to the German Weather Service (DWD), there will also be widespread black ice rain in the northeast and east of Germany in the course of the day on Monday.
READ ALSO: Frosty roads and 'icy rain': Cold spell continues in Germany
As the week continues temperatures are set to rise, but with the mild air also comes rain, which will cause icy conditions on the frozen-through soils.
The German weather service advises people to avoid staying outdoors as much as possible and for those who do have to travel by car on Monday to adjust their driving style, to fill up their tanks and take blankets and warm drinks with them.
Vocabulary
Black ice - (das) Glatteis
Dangerous - gefährlich
Frozen - eingefroren
Accident - (der) Unfall
We’re aiming to help our readers improve their German by translating vocabulary from some of our news stories. Did you find this article useful? Let us know.
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