Many accidents and canceled flights in Germany
Published: Wednesday, Jan 17th 2024, 10:30
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Slippery roads and sidewalks - and the worst could be yet to come: In the west and southwest of Germany, rain set in on Wednesday morning and caused slippery roads.
The police in Baden-Württemberg have already reported many traffic accidents. For the time being, most of the damage was minor. Hundreds of flights were canceled at Frankfurt and Munich airports. Deutsche Bahn is also expecting disruptions. Heavy snowfall is forecast for central Germany. School lessons were canceled in many places.
The German Weather Service (DWD) warned on Wednesday morning of a very high risk of black ice due to freezing rain in a strip from Trier and as far as Frankfurt am Main. In the affected regions in Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse and Baden-Württemberg, the risk of black ice was very high.
Meteorologists also warned of slippery paths, squares and roads in the southern half of the state. In Bavaria, according to the Ministry of Education, schools in Middle Franconia remained completely closed. There were no major accidents in the morning.
The DWD forecast heavy snowfall for western and central Germany. In North Rhine-Westphalia, the snow was expected to start in the morning. Bus and train companies informed their customers that there could be massive delays and cancellations from midday. When they woke up in the morning, many people in the affected districts saw an official warning on their cell phones.
Flights in Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin canceled
Travelers should be prepared for delays and cancellations. This applied to road, rail and air traffic. According to a Fraport spokeswoman, 570 of 1047 planned flights at Frankfurt Airport had already been canceled in advance on Wednesday. At Munich Airport, more than 250 of around 650 planned take-offs and landings have been canceled, according to the airport. There were also isolated cancellations at Berlin's BER airport.
Rail travelers must also be prepared for restrictions throughout Germany. Deutsche Bahn wrote on its website this morning: "There may be delays and train cancellations on regional and long-distance services." As a precautionary measure, the maximum speed of ICE trains has been limited to 200 kilometers per hour. According to Deutsche Bahn, employees in the affected regions were on standby to clear points or ensure traffic safety at level crossings, for example. Clearance vehicles and heavy locomotives were available at strategically important points in the rail network.
In the morning, progress on the roads was sometimes slow or even stopped altogether. The police reported many accidents in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria and Saarland. According to the police, there were around 30 accidents in Constance alone. In Freiburg, the police were also called out more frequently to traffic accidents. There were a few injuries, but most of the incidents ended with property damage.
©Keystone/SDA
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