Winter weather disrupts EX-YU air traffic

Heavy snowfall and winter weather is impacting traffic across Europe today. 

Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport suspended all arrivals and departures for close to two hours with a number of flights bound for the city either entering holding patterns or diverting to other airports. An Air Serbia flight from Ljubljana, which was holding for a prolonged period managed to land at 12:10 CET, marking the airport's reopening. Others also holding, including Air Serbia service from New York, Chicago and Vienna, Wizz Air from Eindhoven, as well as AJet from Istanbul have followed suit. Qatar Airways' service from Doha, Air Serbia's from Zurich and Wizz Air's from Hamburg were diverted to Budapest. After holding for a prolonged period, Austrian Airlines diverted back to Vienna, Pegasus Airlines returned to Istanbul, while Air Montenegro from Tivat diverted to Podgorica. Air Serbia's service from Stuttgart diverted to Timisoara. 

At 14:00 CET a number of flights were again in a holding pattern awaiting to land, including Qatar Airways from Budapest (previously diverted from Doha), Lufthansa from Munich and Wizz Air from Budapest (previously diverted from Hamburg). They have since landed.

Departures at the airport resumed at 14:20 CET with China Southern Airlines. 

In a statement Air Serbia has said that "heavy snowfall at airports in Serbia and the region may affect Air Serbia's flight operations. The relevant departments of the Serbian national airline are taking all necessary measures to maintain operational regularity in line with the planned flight schedule". Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport said, "All operational services at Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport are continuously engaged to ensure that air traffic operates safely under winter conditions. During periods of snowfall, deviations from the planned flight schedule are possible, as the runway must be regularly cleared in low temperatures and snow, and aircraft require special preparation before departure".

Operations at Sarajevo Airport have been disrupted as well. Lufthansa from Frankfurt diverted back to base after it was unable to land in Bosnia and Herzegovina's capital, while Ryanair's service from Weeze diverted to Zadar. Numerous flights have also been cancelled. Croatia Airlines' afternoon service from Zagreb was in a holding pattern for a prolonged period but eventually touched down at the airport.

Service at Banja Luka Airport was also impacted, with Wizz Air from Dortmund holding for some time after eventually managing to land at the airport.

There are currently disruptions across Europe. KLM has cancelled 295 flights today at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport due to winter weather, following major disruptions on Friday and Saturday. Operations at Schiphol are hindered by snow showers, de-icing of aircraft, and unfavourable wind conditions, which have reduced runway capacity.

Operations at Athens Airport are severely disrupted due to technical problems at Athens Air Traffic Control. While a limited number of flights are now being allowed to land and depart, air traffic control is not operating at full capacity. According to a statement by the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority, a technical fault in the central frequency systems disrupted reliable communication between pilots and air traffic controllers. In order not to compromise flight safety, capacity restrictions were imposed in Athens, with many aircraft being held on the apron. Aircraft already airborne are being monitored via emergency frequencies. Due to the systemic issue, long delays and cancellations are affecting both domestic and international flights. Uncertainty continues for passengers waiting in terminals, while technical teams are still working to identify the source of the malfunction.

Photo by Marko Ponjević