Berlin Airport closed: Airport closes for second time due to black ice - with all departures and arrivals cancelled
A major European airport is closed today due to black ice.
Berlin airport will stay closed on Friday because of black ice and it is unclear when take-offs and landings will resume, German news agency DPA cited an airport spokesperson as saying. The airport company's winter services have been treating the flight operation areas with de-icing agents throughout the night, but without success.
An airport spokesperson added: "To protect passengers and employees, flight operations have been temporarily suspended. Passengers are asked to check their flight status regularly before traveling”. It comes after there had already been a number of problems at Berlin Airport over the course of Thursday.
First of all, no planes were able to take off in the morning after freezing rain. It took up to an hour to de-ice the aircraft.
The first plane then took off in the late morning. The flight schedule was subsequently subject to considerable delays and numerous cancellations. Passengers had to endure long waiting times in some cases.
According to the spokesperson, 35 of the 180 planned take-offs had already been completely cancelled by around midday and several dozen more were cancelled after that. More flights will be cancelled today due to the closure.
On the airport’s website it shows a list of dozens of cancelled departure and arrival flights. Some arrival flights have been diverted. Passengers are advised to check the airport’s website and enquire with their airline regarding the status of their flight.