Weather leads to flight chaos at Frankfurt airport - passengers were not allowed to leave planes
A severe thunderstorm in the night to Friday has had a significant impact on air traffic at Frankfurt Airport. Due to the weather conditions, numerous aircraft en route to Frankfurt had to be diverted. In addition, about 70 flights were canceled before the night flight ban took effect
Ground handling at the airport had to be completely stopped for more than two hours, as confirmed by a spokesman. Passengers who had already landed had to wait out patiently on the tarmac, as the admission to the terminal was delayed for security reasons.
A passenger, Bernd F. from Frankfurt, described the chaotic situation on board his Sun Express flight from Antalya: "Our departure flight from Antalya to Frankfurt was already delayed by two hours. Already during the approach to Frankfurt, we saw the approaching thunderstorm with the intense lightning."After landing, passengers were told that flight operations were temporarily suspended and they had to stay on board until the thunderstorm had passed.
After an hour, the passengers became increasingly restless. Bernd F. reported that the request for water led to confusion. The Sun Express crew did not have enough water for all passengers and the promised water supply from Fraport did not arrive within the two hours. The Sun Express aircraft crew did not seem to have the situation under control. Some passengers even tried to leave the plane without permission, but were stopped outside by police. It was reported that one of them even tried to smoke on the plane.
Only after more than two hours, the stranded passengers were finally picked up by buses from the tarmac. In the process, the full extent of the storm damage became visible to the passengers sitting on the plane, as some areas of the airport were under water.
