Switzerland: icy weather disrupted flights at Zurich airport

Freezing rain, frost and snowfall disrupted air traffic on Saturday evening and Sunday morning at Zurich-Kloten Airport. Around fifty flights had to be cancelled.

The Zurich hub operations department confirmed to Keystone-ATS on Sunday the cancellation of 40 flights on Saturday evening, then a dozen more on Sunday morning. The Sunday deletions, unlike those of the day before, were not directly linked to the weather in Zurich, but to cascading effects. Several crews were not present because they were held up at other airports.

Frost, frost and black ice are not only a problem for the runways but also for the aircraft cabin, explained the Kloten operations center. This type of disruption occurs on average once or twice a year.

French-speaking Switzerland marginally affected

In the city of Berne, on Sunday morning, the freezing rain which froze the catenaries caused delays and cancellations in tram and bus traffic. Replacement vehicles were put in place, with some delays. The disruptions were lifted around mid-morning.

In Geneva, at least six flights were canceled on Sunday morning, to German and British destinations, as well as to Copenhagen and Zurich. In Geneva itself, as well as in the Lake Geneva region and in Valais, the weather was mild and mild on Sunday morning, indicates MétéoSuisse.

In French-speaking Switzerland, disruptions due to the weather mainly affected the Jura and the Trois-Lakes region. In the canton of Fribourg, the police recorded eleven accidents involving around thirty vehicles between Saturday evening 7:00 p.m. and Sunday around 2:00 a.m., the police said in a press release. Three people were slightly injured “and will receive medical treatment later”.

Freezing rain

In the Jura, freezing rain caused a few accidents on Saturday evening, but without particular seriousness, according to the police and regional media.

Car traffic suffered somewhat in the cantons of Bern and Aargau. The Bernese police recorded more than 40 accidents during the night, and that of Aargau, around twenty, all without seriousness. On the highways in these regions, motorists who were driving with summer tires have experienced some problems.

Everywhere, the warm weather was very noticeable. Temperatures remained positive during the night from Saturday to Sunday almost throughout Switzerland. The natural hazards map indicated a marked risk of avalanche (level 3) in many alpine regions.

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