Northern Italy shuts airports due to heavy snowfall

[Pieter C. 5]

first, DUS was closed last week due heavy snowfall, now this....

 

Northern Italy Shuts Airports Due To Heavy Snowfall

 

January 7, 2009

Heavy snowfall forced northern Italy to close briefly its major airports on Wednesday, including Milan Malpensa Airport.

 

Up to 40 cm (15 inches) of snow has fallen across northern Italy since Tuesday, slowing the return to work after the New Year holiday.

 

"Things are not expected to improve until Friday," a spokesman said.

 

Milan's Linate Airport put a halt to flights until early afternoon, as did Orio al Serio in nearby Bergamo and Caselle in Turin.

 

Although major roads were mostly clear, traffic in some parts of Milan was snarled due to trees that had fallen under the weight of the snow, the regional emergency authority said.

 

(Reuters)

 

Update: also MRS (Marseille) and Toulouse (TLS) now also effected, and both airports closed due snow/freezing rain...

Some extreme winter-weather here in EU (to the delight of my wife Mai )

 

[Pieter C. 5]

Snow Paralyses Marseille, France's Second City

 

January 7, 2009

Heavy snowfall in Marseille forced the international airport to close and stopped all train and bus traffic on Wednesday in France's second-biggest city.

 

"The weather conditions no longer allow air traffic to take place in satisfactory conditions so the airport of Marseille Provence is closed to air traffic," a spokesman said.

 

The airport was expected to remain closed at least until Thursday morning, management said.

 

The usually busy and sunny Mediterranean port city ground to a halt as snow overwhelmed infrastructure and stopped school buses and all other public transport.

 

France is experiencing a cold weather snap that has gradually moved from north to south. Electricity consumption has hit record levels as families turn up home heating.

 

Rail, road and air traffic have been disrupted for several days, notably at the main airport in the Paris region, Charles de Gaulle.

 

Secretary of State for Transport Dominique Bussereau demanded an investigation on Wednesday into "unacceptable" chaos at Charles de Gaulle, where hundreds of flights were cancelled and thousands of passengers stranded earlier this week.

 

In Marseille, the main Saint Charles train station was paralysed as signalling froze. School buses were cancelled in the entire Bouches du Rhone administrative area, where Marseille is located.

 

(Reuters)

 

It was closed for the whole day on thursday 08jan09 as well...

 

[BC Tam 2]

So, what is this global 'warming' thingy that is all the rave at the moment

imo, it's more like the global climate synchronising with all the financial markets - wild oscillations between extremes

I wish all the best for those who are caught in the middle of this cold snap (mother nature - no arguments possible !) AND gas supply dispute Russia vs Ukraine (man made issue - petty really in comparison)

[Pieter C. 5]

Another European airport 'in trouble':

 

Madrid Travel Snarled By Deepest Snow In Years

 

January 9, 2009

One of the heaviest snowfalls in decades closed Madrid airport for only the second time in 80 years on Friday and brought traffic in the Spanish capital to a standstill.

 

Airports operator AENA diverted 57 flights hundreds of kilometres to the north, south and east after closing Madrid's Barajas Airport, Europe's fourth busiest, for five hours.

 

Two of the airport's four runways were reopened shortly before 5 pm (1600 GMT).

 

Barajas normally handles 1,200 flights a day and the closure heaped misery on Iberia passengers who have already suffered weeks of delays and cancellations because of industrial action by pilots.

 

Madrid's regional government called a meeting of its crisis committee and raised its warning level to orange -- the second highest -- as snow fell throughout the morning and settled on the capital's streets for the first time since February 2005.

 

A transport department spokesman said all Madrid's major highways were jammed as a result of the bad weather and the traffic chaos extended across the country.

 

The National Meteorology Institute said up to 10 cm (4 inches) of snow was expected to fall in Madrid on Friday and snow would settle on much of the country, particularly the north and east, during the weekend. Twenty eight provinces were put on a state of alert.

 

The high north and central Spanish plateau has deep snow every winter but, although Madrid lies 650 metres above sea level, the city's heat makes snow a rarity.

 

Television pictures showed a lone skier in San Sebastian gliding across the northern town's main beach and another skier followed suit in Madrid's Retiro park as children fought playful battles in the formal gardens.

 

Spain, like many other parts of Europe, has had an unusually cold autumn and winter so far.

 

(Reuters)

 

Snow Traps Thousands At Madrid Airport

 

January 10, 2009

Thousands of passengers were stranded at Madrid's Barajas Airport late on Saturday after snow kept runways closed and flights grounded.

 

The third of the airport's four runways opened on Saturday and normal services were expected to resume on Sunday, Spanish press reported, citing comments by director of Spanish airports operator AENA, Javier Marin.

 

Some 45,000 passengers have suffered flight delays or cancellations at Barajas after one of the heaviest snowfalls in decades caused the airport to shut down for five hours on Friday.

 

More snow fell on the capital overnight allowing no respite for passengers, including those flying on Iberia as the bad weather added to disruptions in service caused by weeks of industrial action by pilots.

 

Spain, like many other parts of Europe, has had an unusually cold winter so far.

 

(Reuters)