Icy weather shuts Central European airports, stranding passengers

Severe winter conditions disrupted air travel across Central Europe, forcing the temporary closure or restriction of operations at several major airports and leaving passengers stranded.

Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport suspended all arrivals and departures on Tuesday due to black ice and extreme icing, citing heightened safety risks. The closure followed an incident in which the nose gear of an Ethiopian Airlines cargo aircraft slipped off a taxiway while taxiing, becoming stuck. An investigation is ongoing.

Vienna International Airport was also forced to halt operations on Tuesday morning after repeated icing rendered runway clearing ineffective. Flights were diverted before the airport announced it would resume operations from 11:00 local time.

Prague’s Václav Havel Airport operated in a “very limited mode” due to freezing rain, with arrivals restricted and delays expected throughout the day as crews worked to de-ice the main runway. Bratislava Airport similarly closed until mid-morning because of adverse weather.

The disruption follows earlier weather-related travel chaos in northern Finland, where extreme cold led to widespread flight cancellations at Kittilä Airport over the weekend, stranding thousands of tourists.