Geneva airport reopens after heavy snowfall
Geneva airport is back in operation after heavy snow rendered its runways inaccessible on Thursday morning.
Departures resumed at 11am, and arrivals at 1pm, reported the airport authorities. However, the airport cautioned that passengers should continue to expect delays.
#GeneveAeroportExternal link is now open to traffic (Arrivals and Departures)! Delays and cancellations are expected throughout the day. We recommend the passengers to contact their airline to know their flght status.
— Genève Aéroport (@GeneveAeroport) March 1, 2018External link
Road and rail delays
The snowfall overnight slowed traffic on motorways and other roads across the country. Several accidents were reported on the motorways connecting the capital, Bern, and Thun, and between Zurich and St Gallen in the northeast.
Public transport has also been hindered. For example, 12 bus and several tram lines in Zurich were disrupted. Train service also slowed down, especially in canton Vaud.
In Bern, many swissinfo.ch journalists faced long waits for trams and buses.
Switzerland has been experiencing unusually cold temperatures this week.
+ Read more about the ‘Beast from the East’
Yet the heavy snow on Thursday caught most people off guard, including the meteorologists at Swiss public television, SRF.
“Yes, dear followers. We’re also surprised about all the snow. The warm front is much more active than expected. We wish you a lot of patience on the roads,” they said in the following tweet.
Liebe Follower. Ja, auch wir sind überrascht, dass es so verbreitet schneit. Die Warmfront ist viel aktiver als erwartet. Wir wünschen viel Geduld auf den #StrassenExternal link. ^gf pic.twitter.com/3ok2lfolBmExternal link
— SRF Meteo (@srfmeteo) March 1, 2018External link
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