Snow causes airport chaos

11th January 2010, by Chris Gill

After the storm ...

Severe weather continues to cause mayhem across Europe, forcing several airports to close at the weekend – and causing chaos for hundreds of travellers.

Sleepovers at Lyon

Thick fog, freezing temperatures and snowfall forced Lyon airport to close on Saturday night leaving over 800 people stranded – including many Britons returning from skiing holidays. Various flights during the day had already been cancelled or delayed. Workers had struggled to keep the runways open as the weather deteriorated. The airport reopened on Sunday, but the advice is to check with your airline if you are due to travel shortly. Chambéry airport was also badly affected by the weather conditions, causing delays for many ‘transfer day’ skiers.

Geneva closed too

Around 10cm snow was to blame for disruption at Geneva airport too, when it closed for six hours on Sunday morning. According to local reports, this was the longest closure for the airport in 25 years. Up to 70 flights were delayed or cancelled, and there may be further delays while the backlog is sorted – again if you plan to travel, check for the latest updates with your airline.

It is a bright, blue-sky day in the French Alps on Monday though so things should be returning to normal…

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