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CHRISTMAS TRANSPORT CHAOS

SAS

Transport agency at the ready as snow rolls in

Sweden's Transport Administration has allocated extra resources to ensure transport alternatives continue to function as London air traffic is expected to return to normal, easing the passage of stranded Swedes.

Transport agency at the ready as snow rolls in

After a very cold night across the country, down to lows of -36 degrees Celsius in Idre in central Sweden, a new weather front carrying snow is on its way into northern Götaland and Hälsingland.

Swedish meteorological agency, SMHI, has issued a class 1 warning (of three on an ascending scale) for about a decimetre of snow in Hälsingland during the morning and around noon.

Air traffic to and from London is however set to resume to near-normal levels on Wednesday.

“As it stands right now, we have cancelled a London flight from Stockholm in the afternoon and from Gothenburg, we have cancelled a return flight to London. We sincerely hope that we will be able to operate the rest,” said SAS CIO Elisabeth Manzi.

The situation in London remains chaotic however with SAS alone having around 6000 Swedes stranded there.

The airline is planning to switch to larger aircraft in order to get as many home in time for the holidays as possible.

“But it’s hard to sit and promise something, it becomes such a delicate situation when so many are affected. But now we are crossing our fingers because we really need to ease the pressure,” said Elisabeth Manzi.

“Of course, our goal is that everyone will get to celebrate Christmas at home. We are doing everything we can to get everyone home.”

SAS has called in extra staff to answer questions and take care of the re-booking for all those affected, but waiting times have been very long.

“We hope for understanding, but they (the passengers) have needed to equip themselves with a great deal of patience.”

In Paris, Amsterdam and Frankfurt the airlines have managed to service the stranded passengers, as traffic has largely been maintained, albeit with delays and cancellations.

in Sweden, the Transport Administration has put in extra resources to avoid a repeat of yesterday’s snow-related problems. The ambition is to keep long-distance trains rolling.

“What we now have is the aftermath of yesterday’s major problems with the switches,” said Tommy Andersson at national rail operator SJ’s press office.

“Some trains have ended up in the wrong place in the tumult, one can say.”

Some 20 trains in the Mälardalen region around Stockholm will be replaced by coaches and some passengers have been rescheduled to other departures.

“Otherwise it is all rolling on, generally it looks good,” Andersson said.

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WEATHER

Norway to get a taste of summer with 20C days this week

Summer is finally here! Or least it is if you live in southern Norway, where a warm front coming up from Europe will bring t-shirt temperatures of 20C by Thursday, according to forecasts.

Norway to get a taste of summer with 20C days this week

Warm air from southern Europe will combine with a high pressure zone which will bring clear skies and sunshine, with summery weather coming towards the end of the week, Norway’s national weather forecaster Yr has reported. 

“Thursday and Friday especially will be nice,” Ingrid Villa, a meteorologist at the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, told the public broadcaster NRK. “Then we will probably get temperatures of over 20 degrees Celsius in some places.” 

Patches of 20C warmth are expected both in western Norway around Bergen and in Western Norway around Oslo, with the area around Tromsø expected to have slightly cooler weather, although Villa said that “it will absolutely be something like summer there too”. 

The warm sunny weather is, however, expected to pass northern Norway by, with grey overcast skies expected for much of this week. 

But if you think summer has come to Norway to stay, you risk disappointment as much cooler temperatures are expected next week.  

“There’s nothing unusual in getting an early taste of summer in April and the start of May, and then we can quickly go back to cooler more spring-like weather,” Villa said. 

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