Istanbul Airport cancels all flights due to heavy snowfall

Dhaka: All flights to and from Istanbul Airport were temporarily cancelled on January 24 amid heavy snowfall in the city, while many other parts of the country suffered from commuting difficulties following adverse weather.

Flights at Istanbul Airport, which was Europe’s busiest in 2021, were suspended until 6 pm local time (3 pm GMT), officials said, with delays throughout the night, while national flag carrier Turkish Airlines also cancelled all of its flights until January 25 morning.

Many parts of Turkey have been hit with heavy snowfall since the weekend, prompting authorities to close schools in some parts of the country. Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Authority (AFAD) announced thousands were stranded due to the bad weather.

The closure of Istanbul Airport affected flights stretching from the Middle East and Africa to Europe and Asia.

This is the first time the new renovated airport of Istanbul has been closed since it replaced Istanbul’s old Atatürk Airport as the new hub for Turkish Airlines in 2019.

Turkish Airlines suspended all flights in and out of Istanbul Airport until 4 am on January 25, said Yahya Üstün, Vice President of Media Relations, Turkish Airlines.

Üstün further mentioned a collapse occurred on the roof of a facility serving Turkish Cargo at Istanbul Airport due to the snow masses and the storm. But there was no casualty.

The airline earlier suspended 36 flights in and out of Istanbul Airport and 31 at Sabiha Gökçen, another airport of the city, scheduled for January 24.

In 2021, Istanbul Airport served more than 37 million passengers, making it one of the world’s busiest airports.