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Flights cancelled and trains disrupted after heavy snowfall in Munich

Munich airport reopened on Sunday after Saturday's heavy snowfall, but hundreds of flights have been cancelled and there are still no trains leaving the Bavarian city's main station.

Published: 3 December 2023 11:54 CET
This 2021 file photo shows a man in high-visibility clothing walking over snow-covered railtracks in a freight railway yard in Munich.
This 2021 file photo shows a man in high-visibility clothing walking over snow-covered railtracks in a freight railway yard in Munich. Heavy snowfall in the city caused trains, flights and roads to grind to a halt on Saturday. / AFP / Christof STACHE

Munich airport said on its website that flights were able to resume from 6am on Sunday, but some 560 of around 880 scheduled flights have been cancelled, a spokesperson told German news agency DPA. 

The temporary stop to flights on Saturday impacted take-offs and landings at other airports, too.

Anyone due to fly on Sunday should check the status of their flight before travelling.

More than 40 centimetres of snow fell on Saturday, German weather services said, bringing trains in Munich and wider Bavaria to a stop.

READ ALSO: Heavy snow paralyses parts of southern Germany

No trains

Munich main station is expected to remain closed until at least 10am on Sunday, operator Deutsche Bahn said, asking travellers to postpone any non-urgent trips.

The railway wants to get trains up and running again as soon as possible, but this will only be on a few routes in the first instance and there will be fewer trains than normal, a spokesperson told DPA.

Travellers are still likely to face massive disruptions until at least Monday due to damaged infrastructure.

However, transport authorities said that bus, tram and suburban train services in Munich should resume on Sunday.

Traffic returned to normal on the roads in Bavaria overnight, however, with authorities only reporting minor incidents.

“A few trees fell down, but this only caused accidents with car body damage” a spokesman for the Upper Bavaria South police told DPA.

And in Lower Bavaria, a spokesperson said the number of accidents was also “typical for the time of year”.

The police said the night was similarly quiet on the streets in northern Upper Bavaria and Swabia.

Freezing temperatures 

The wintry weather didn’t just affect Bavaria either. The weather also impacted road travel in parts of northern Germany with one car in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern coming off a snow-covered road and hitting a tree. The driver and one passenger were seriously injured.

Further snowfall is not expected in most of Bavaria on Sunday, but the Eastern Central Uplands and the Alps may see several centimetres of fresh snow.

Forecasters are predicting lows of -6C to -9C on Sunday.

South of the Danube, temperatures could sink as low as -10C to -15C in some areas.

It’s set to remain cold on Monday and Tuesday with only sporadic snowfall.

It’s a similar picture for other parts of Germany, too: occasional snowfall is expected in Lower Saxony, on the North Sea coast and between the Ore Mountains and the Harz Mountains on Sunday.

On Monday, it’s forecast to turn to rain in those areas, but it should remain dry from Berlin to southern Bavaria.

 
 

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EES PASSPORT CHECKS

EES border checks could undergo ‘soft launch’, UK says as app concerns mount

The UK government is preparing for a "soft launch" of the new EU border system – the Entry/Exit (EES) system - in October but authorities are still waiting for European Commission to confirm the start date, amid concerns over the delay of a new app.

Published: 4 May 2024 09:30 CEST
EES border checks could undergo 'soft launch', UK says as app concerns mount

The UK government is preparing for a soft launch of the new EU border system – the entry/exit (EES) system – on the assumption that it will go live on October 6th, ministers told a hearing at the House of Commons European scrutiny committee this week.

But the European Commission is expected to confirm the exact launch date of the new biometric checks for non-EU travellers entering the Schengen area at some point this summer, they added.

“We are very much working on a basis whereby this policy will go live on the 6th of October. It is important that we plan for that eventuality. We are expecting to hear definitively from the European Union that ‘go live’ arrangement in the summer,” Tom Pursglove, UK Minister for Legal Migration and the Border told the committee.

The parliamentary committee is conducting an inquiry on the disruptions the system will cause in the UK.

Pursglove also said that “precautionary measures” have been agreed by the EU, that will be put in place in certain circumstances after the start of EES, for example if delays at the borders exceeded a certain length of time.

Guy Opperman, Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Transport, said that in practice this meant a “soft launch” of EES for 6 months before “a full go live”. During that soft launch EU member states and the UK could deploy flexibility measures should problems occur.

“The likelihood is, after multiple delays, that the 6th of October will proceed” and the implementation looks “very different” compared to previous scenarios considering the flexibility allowed in the first 6 months, he argued.

No details were given on what these “flexible” measures would involve however. 

READ ALSO: Your questions answered about Europe’s EES passport checks

He conceded that “a lot of work” still needs to be done but the UK “should be as ready as everybody” and “better be at front of the queue”.

App not ready

During the meeting, it also emerged that a much-anticipated app that would allow remote pre-registration of non-EU citizens subject to the checks will not be available for testing until August “at best”, prompting concerns about the EES launch date.

“You don’t need to be a sceptic about future projects to think that the provision of the app in August for going live in October is optimistic,” Opperman said.

Ministers confirmed that the app will not be ready in time for October and the committee previously stated it might be delayed until summer 2025.

The app will facilitate pre-registration, but photo and fingerprints will still have to be taken at the border in front of a guard, the committee heard.

READ ALSO: How do the EU’s new EES passport checks affect the 90-day rule?

Several MPs asked whether the entry into operation of the EES should be delayed again if technology is not ready. But Under-Secretary Opperman said the app “is not going to be a panacea to fix all problems”.

The main aim of EES is to increase security and to ensure that non-EU nationals visiting the Schengen area for a short-term do not stay more than 90 days in any 180-day period.

The entry into operation of the system has already been delayed several times and there have been calls from certain travel companies and national authorities to delay it again.

Under the new scheme, non-EU/EFTA travellers who do not need a visa will have to register their biometric data (finger prints and facial images) in a database that will also record each time they enter and exit the Schengen area.

Instead of having passports manually stamped, travellers will have to scan them at self-service kiosks before crossing the border. However, fingerprints and a photo will have to be registered in front of a guard at the first crossing and there are concerns the extra time needed will generate long queues, especially in Dover, Folkestone and St. Pancras station in London, where there are juxtaposed French and UK border checks.

Progress in preparations

Minister Pursglove also updated MPs on ongoing preparations. He said some testing of the system will take place within days, 5 kiosks have been installed at St. Pancras station and are available for testing. “You are beginning to see the physical infrastructure appear,” he said.

Kiosks and extra lanes are also being created at the port Dover and it was agreed with the EU passengers travelling by coach will be checked away from the Eastern dock, where controls usually take place, allowing to gain space. The vehicles will then sealed and drive on the ferries.

MPs also discussed the infrastructure cost linked to the introduction of the EES. Opperman said all EU countries will have to make “huge investments” in their ports. In the UK, he argued, this will help “address problems that have existed for some time”. Because of this “massive investment”, in a few years time “Dover will be totally transformed,” he said.

This article is published in cooperation with Europe Street News.

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