Snowstorms hit EX-YU airports

Zagreb Airport shuts down as wild weather grips the region

Heavy snowfall shut down Zagreb Airport yesterday and caused delays across the region. The Croatian capital saw its heaviest snowfall in over half a century. The airport closed from 06.00 until 15.00 when it was reopened for traffic. However, long delays persisted. While winter crews at the airport were working since 3.30, strong winds and flurries made it impossible to clear the runway. Other public transport in the city was also disrupted. Snow was also falling on the Northern Adriatic coast while the rest of the shoreline was hit by strong winds, causing delays in ferry services. Snowfall eased over night and is not forecast for today.

However, heavy snowfall travelled overnight to Serbia. In a statement made this morning, Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport said, “There are few delays for arriving flights. Our crews are keeping the runway cleared despite heavy snowfall. However, aircraft de-icing may cause short delays on departure”. It is also heavily snowing in Montenegro where a mini cyclone was also reported yesterday. Bosnia and Slovenia did not escape the snow either, however, there were no major flight disruptions. Furthermore, Priština is being blanketed as well though flights are operating without major delays. Earlier in the week London’s Stansted and Luton airports closed their doors while on Friday airports across Central Europe were also forced to shut down due to poor weather conditions.

In January and February airports across the former Yugoslavia saw unprecedented snowfall and freezing temperatures which disrupted flights for weeks. Passenger numbers nosedived or growth significantly slowed for airports in the region as a result of the weather conditions.