london
CNN
—
Heavy snowfall brought chaos to parts of Europe on Sunday, hitting air travel in Britain and Germany.
Many airports across the UK closed their runways on Sunday due to heavy snow and ice. Snow and ice warnings were in place for large areas of the country on Sunday, including much of Northern Ireland, much of Scotland and much of central and northern England, the Met Office said. A yellow rain warning is in place for most of Wales.
Manchester Airport, the country’s third-largest airport by passenger volume, announced on Sunday morning that it had temporarily closed its runway due to heavy snow, according to the Civil Aviation Authority. Ground crews were clearing snow from the runway before it reopened around 9:45 a.m., according to social media posts.
Liverpool’s John Lennon Airport also temporarily closed its runway on Sunday morning due to snow, but reopened at 10:15am. Newcastle International Airport said flight schedules were being disrupted due to “heavy snowfall”.
Birmingham Airport closed for several hours around midnight to allow staff to clear the snow, but reopened late Sunday “as a result of (resilient) teams working through the night,” X reported.
Bristol Airport in western England was also closed on Saturday due to “severe weather conditions”, but reopened later in the evening. The airport warned that the closure could affect departures on Sunday.
Railroads said on Sunday morning that rail lines in England, Scotland and Wales were also affected by the bad weather.
“Due to ice and snow, speed limits and route closures may be implemented to ensure trains can travel safely on rail lines,” the agency said in announcing the service suspension.
National Highways, the government-run company that operates Britain’s major roads, has issued a severe weather warning across the country, predicting snow to fall across England on Saturday and Sunday.
“Road users are advised to take particular care when traveling over the weekend.”
Meanwhile, in Germany, snow, black ice and poor visibility forced dozens of flights to be canceled at Germany’s largest airport, Frankfurt. A total of 120 of the airport’s approximately 1,090 flights were canceled, according to the Associated Press.
Only one runway was open at Munich Airport.
Germany’s weather service warned of continued freezing rain on Sunday after overnight snowfall and advised people to avoid unnecessary travel.
This story has been updated.
