Stuck at the airport - several days later: "A snow disaster"

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Germany  

Stuck at the airport for four days: "Forced to sleep on a stone floor" 

Peter Schwartz  

Updated 22.07 | Published 21.43  

Sanna and the colleagues have been stuck at the snow-covered 

Munich airport since last Friday.  

The luggage is locked and they are forced to sleep on the airport floor. 

Now they may have to spend the night again. 

- You can't take care of hygiene, says Sanna Wikström.  

The airport is closed on Saturday due to the heavy snow storm. 

The snowfall this weekend is described as record breaking since measurements began in the 1930s and measured a depth of 45 centimeters on Saturday.  

 "We've had a snow disaster." Photo: Matthias Schrader/AP 

Several flights have been canceled as a result of the snow chaos. According to flight tracking service Flyaware, over 700 flights have been canceled over the weekend. 

And flights continue to be cancelled. Of today's 840 planned flights, 300 have been cancelled. At X, the airport aske travelers not to show up if their booking is cancelled.  

    

The snow chaos stops air traffic in Bavaria. 

1 / 2Photo: MICHAEL BIHLMAYER/IMAGO via TT 

"Stuck in rebooking" 

Sanna Wikström and her colleagues were on their way to Colmar in France to work for a week, but after they were forced to stop over in Munich on Friday, they have been stranded at the airport.  

- We are stuck in a circle of rebookings and running back and forth between the terminals to find information, she says. 

- Lufthansa's system has completely crashed and they have said that we can book hotels ourselves. But they are fully booked.  

Colleagues Linnea Wallenberg, Sanna Wikström, Gita Hagenstam and Marit Pettersson have been allowed to spend the night at the airport since last Friday. Photo: Private 

Got to sleep on a stone floor  

Traveling on to Colmar by train has also not worked, due to canceled departures from Munich's Hauptbahnhof train station. 

 Sanna and her colleagues have had to sleep on the airport's stone floor. The luggage is locked. Everything has had to be bought expensively in duty-free shops.  

- No one from Lufthansa has come and apologized, given information or given us a food voucher, says Sanna. 

- You have not been able to take care of hygiene, you have had to wash yourself in the toilet. It has almost been like a refugee camp between Saturday and Sunday. 

 

Sanna and her colleagues have now spent three nights at the airport. 

1 / 2Photo: Private 

Sanna and the colleagues have given up hope of getting away for the working week in Colmar. They have rebooked the tickets, tomorrow they are booked on a flight to Stockholm.  

- We hope to get home now and that we can bring our luggage with us. But we still don't get any information, she says.  

The new message: Shuts down everything  

But on Monday evening, that flight was also canceled after Munich Airport announced that they would shut down all operations for the rest of the day.  

"After the snow, we expect hail. Munich Airport therefore closes all operations between 24:00 and 12:00," writes Lufthansa on X.  

The snow has fallen over Germany. Photo: Matthias Schrader/AP  

Last year, a similar situation occurred when the runway froze again and 133 planes had to be grounded.

- I spoke to a friend from here who said that it is absolutely crazy that the whole of southern Germany closes when there is half a meter of snow, says Sanna.

Lufthansa: Exceptional situation  

 

Martin Leutke is press spokesperson at Lufthansa. According to him, the situation is extreme.  

 

- We have had a snow disaster with severely limited operations as a result. We have canceled flights, buses and trains all over Munich.  

 

A passenger sleeps while waiting at Munich Airport, which has been closed due to the snow. Photo: Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/Dpa Via TT  

 

Regarding compensation, the situation has been particularly difficult, according to Leutke. 

 

- Normally, we offer customers meal vouchers and rooms when we have to cancel flights, but due to the storm, all hotels are fully booked. Therefore, it is up to the customer to find a hotel themselves. 

 

Sanna and her colleagues have not received any food. What do you think about it? 

 

- It's not something I can control from here, but it's just to be sorry. 

 

Will they be reimbursed for the necessities they had to buy at the airport?  

 

- Obvious. But it depends on what they bought, if they bought necessities that are in the luggage, we will replace them, he says.  

 

 

 

The heavy snowfall has caused chaos in southern Germany.  

1 / 3Photo: Matthias Schrader / AP

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