Germany: Munich Airport resumes flights after heavy snowfall

Flight operations resumed at Munich Airport at 6 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) on Sunday after heavy snowfall ground air traffic to a halt, the operating company announced on its website.

Flights were suspended at the airport on Saturday amid the onset of severe winter weather across southern Germany.

The operating company said that although flights had now resumed, there would still be "restrictions in air traffic." It urged passengers to check the status of their flight with their airline "well in advance" before traveling to the airport.

Although operations are once again possible, a majority of the planned flights for Sunday have been cancelled, news agency dpa reported.

Out of around 880 flights planned for Sunday, some 560 have been cancelled, an airport spokesperson told dpa.

Train travel also disrupted

The large amount of snow, unusual so early in the season, paralyzed much of the state of Bavaria and its capital, Munich.

The city's main railway station was also shut down. Rail operator Deutsche Bahn announced Sunday morning that no long distance trains would be running for several hours.

Helicopters are being used to check the tracks and fly along the routes, reported local public broadcaster Bayerische Rundfunk.

The broadcaster also reported the situation was "still chaotic" at Munich's main train station, with passengers standing in a line "several hundred meters long" seeking information.

The rail provider recommended that travelers planning to travel to and from Munich on Sunday postpone their journeys.

It warned that there could also be "weather-related train cancellations and delays" in other parts of southern Germany, with disruptions likely to continue into Monday.

At the height of the bad weather on Saturday, thousands of homes suffered power outages and scores of traffic accidents were reported on the state's roads. The heavy snowfall also increased the risk of avalanches in the Bavarian Alps.(AFP, dpa)