Flights cancelled, schools closed and many accidents: Germany slides through the chaos of icy conditions

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Slippery streets and sidewalks – and the worst may yet come: It started raining in western and southwestern Germany on Wednesday morning, creating slippery roads.

The police in Baden-Württemberg have already reported many traffic accidents. So far, it mainly concerned plate damage. Hundreds of flights have been canceled at Frankfurt and Munich airports. Deutsche Bahn also expects disruptions. Heavy snowfall is forecast for central Germany. School classes were canceled in many places.

Schools remained closed

The German Weather Service (DWD) warned on Wednesday morning of a very high risk of icy conditions due to freezing rain in a strip from Trier to Frankfurt am Main. The risk of slippery roads is very high in the affected regions of Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse and Baden-Württemberg.

The meteorologists also warned of slippery paths, squares and streets in the southern half. In Bavaria, schools in Middle Franconia remained completely closed, according to the Ministry of Culture. No major accidents occurred in the morning.

Flights in Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin cancelled

The DWD predicted heavy snowfall for western and central Germany. In North Rhine-Westphalia the snow should start in the morning. Bus and train companies informed their customers that massive delays and cancellations could occur from the afternoon. When they woke up in the morning, many people in the affected neighborhoods saw an official warning on their mobile phones.

Travelers should prepare for delays and cancellations. This applied to traffic on the road, to connections by rail and in the air. According to a Fraport spokeswoman, 570 of the 1,047 scheduled flights at Frankfurt airport had already been canceled in advance on Wednesday. According to the airport, more than 250 of the approximately 650 scheduled takeoffs and landings at Munich Airport have been canceled. There were also isolated outages on the Berlin capital BER.

Thirty accidents occurred in Konstanz alone, near the Swiss border

Train passengers should also be prepared for restrictions across Germany. Deutsche Bahn wrote on its website this morning: “Delays and train cancellations may occur in regional and long-distance transport.” As a precaution, the maximum speed of the ICE was limited to 200 kilometers per hour. According to the railway, employees in the affected regions were ready to, for example, clear switches or ensure road safety at level crossings. Clearance vehicles and heavy locomotives are available at strategically important points in the rail network.

On the roads in the morning it was sometimes slow or not at all. The police reported many accidents in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria and Saarland. According to the police, around 30 accidents took place in Konstanz alone. In Freiburg too, the police were called more often in traffic accidents. Some injuries were reported, but the incidents usually resulted in property damage. (SDA)

Source: Blick