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WEATHER

Flights disrupted at Frankfurt airport after severe thunderstorms

Torrential rain and thunderstorms battered central and southern Germany on Wednesday night, causing widespread transport disruption and flooding at Frankfurt airport.

Published: 17 August 2023 11:56 CEST
Lightning and thunder in the Frankfurt district of Sachsenhausen.
Lightning and thunder in the Frankfurt district of Sachsenhausen. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Arne Dedert

A major storm caused severe flooding in several parts of Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia on Wednesday night, bringing public transport and flights to a standstill in the Frankfurt area.

Between 8 pm and 11 pm in the evening, Hesse was hit by flash floods, with around 60 litres of rainfall per square metre in the state capital of Frankfurt.

In nearby Raunheim, about 58 litres per square metre fell within two hours, while Griesheim was hit by 50 litres of rainfall per square metre and ferocious gusts of winds that reached speeds of around 80km per hour.

In some regions that were particularly hard-hit by the floods, around 50 litres of rainfall fell within just 20-30 minutes. 

The Rhine-Main also saw an unprecedented amount of lightning during the storm, with meteorologists recording 25,289 lightning flashes in a single hour between 8:40 and 9:40 pm.

By comparison, 11,566 lightning bolts were measured throughout Hesse in the entire year of 2022.

READ ALSO: German word of the day: Platzregen

90 flight cancellations

The heavy thunderstorms wreaked havoc at Frankfurt airport, with many passengers unable to leave their planes after landing due to the floods.

According to reports in Tagesschau, passengers returning from Athens on a flight that landed at 8:30 pm were unable to exit until around 11 pm. 

The airport was also forced to suspend ground handling entirely for two hours due to the storm, meaning 34 flights were unable to take off at the scheduled time. 

The airport said it was forced to axe 90 flights while 23 more were rerouted to land at other airports, affecting thousands of passengers.

Some passengers slept on camp beds while many spent the night at the airport hotel.

“Today, the situation will probably stabilise again,” a spokesman told AFP. “There are still passengers here who need to be booked onto new flights.”

However, due to the disruption on Wednesday, the airport said further delays and backlogs could be expected on Thursday.

“Yesterday’s weather conditions will proceed to affect today’s flight schedule,” the airport cautioned on X (formerly known as Twitter).

“Due to increased passenger volume, we advise all passengers to arrive at the airport 2.5 hours before their flight time.”

Frankfurt’s public transport was also disrupted by the extreme weather, with many underground trains, suburban trains and trams pausing their operations due to safety concerns. 

In the district of Sachsenhausen, water penetrated the Südbahnhof, causing several underground lines to be suspended until Thursday morning.

READ ALSO: Germany to see ‘extreme heat’ and thunderstorms in coming week

Submerged vehicles 

The fire service in Germany’s financial capital said they launched over 500 operations from late Wednesday to early Thursday related to the storm.

There were more than 350 instances of water flooding into buildings and 17 fallen trees, they said, adding that off-duty personnel were called in to help.

The storm also affected other areas, with residents of Gelsenkirchen in North Rhine-Westphalia experiencing heavy flooding. 

Streets, cellars and lower-lying residential areas were rapidly overwhelmed with water, while trees toppled over, hitting vehicles, the fire service said.

Emergency services pump water out of a flooded street in Essen.

Emergency services pump water out of a flooded street in Essen. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Michael Weber

Emergency service workers rescued people from vehicles at several highway underpasses.

In one area, parked vehicles became submerged and some streets were only passable with inflatable boats.

Experts say that climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of floods.

In 2021, Germany’s western regions of Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia were hit by catastrophic flash floods that killed over 180 people.

Work to rebuild infrastructure in the damaged regions continues to this day. 

READ ALSO: How flash floods left a trail of destruction in western Germany

More storms expected

On Thursday, the German Weather Service predicts highs of between 22C and 29C and the potential of more thunderstorms.

Going into the weekend, the weather will be hot and muggy, with temperatures of up to 35C in the south and up to 30C in the north.

Saturday could bring more strong winds, thunderstorms and heavy rainstorms, which are likely to subside in most regions of the country on Sunday, leaving relatively sunny and dry weather in its wake. 

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TRAVEL NEWS

Could Germany’s €49 transport ticket see ‘massive’ price hike this year?

Transport ministers across German states are meeting to talk about the future of the Deutschlandticket, with suggestions the price could rise earlier than planned - and even by as much as €10.

Published: 8 July 2024 11:56 CEST
Could Germany's €49 transport ticket see 'massive' price hike this year?

Germany’s €49 local public transport ticket has around 11 million subscribers and is considered a huge success.

But the financing of the travel pass, that allows holders to use local transport across Germany, is in danger, according to transport companies and regional politicians. 

The price of the ticket is meant to be frozen until the end of this year. But because the federal government has not yet released promised funds, state transport ministers are discussing whether the cost of the Deutschlandticket will need to go up by as much as €10 from October.

State ministers were set to meet for a special conference in Düsseldorf on Monday to discuss this aspect. 

PODCAST: Underrated German tourist spots and can the €49 ticket survive?

“I see a great danger that an unmanageable patchwork will soon emerge with areas where the Deutschlandticket can be continued and others where it must be cancelled for financial reasons,” wrote the Chairman of the Conference of Transport Ministers, North Rhine-Westphalia state minister Oliver Krischer (Greens), in a recent letter to federal ministers.

“To prevent this, the only option would be to massively increase the price of the Deutschlandticket in the very short term.”

The federal and state governments each subsidise the offer with €1.5 billion per year. This is intended to cushion the impact of lower ticket revenues for transport firms.

Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP), at the launch of the Deutschlandticket in April 2023.

Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP), at the launch of the Deutschlandticket in April 2023. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Bernd von Jutrczenka

The federal government had also vowed to transfer unused funds from 2023 to 2024, however, this has not yet happened. Transport companies are now worried that they will end up having to bear the costs and that the Deutschlandticket may have to be axed.

State transport ministers say a price hike could come as early as October if the government doesn’t transfer more cash.

A ministry spokesperson from Thuringia said: “If the federal government does not budge, a price increase will have to take effect from October 1st 2024.”

“We have been waiting for over half a year for the Chancellor to keep his word and make the unused federal funds from 2023 available for 2024,” said Bavaria’s transport minister Christian Bernreiter, of the Christian Social Union (CSU), the CDU’s Bavarian sister party. 

If the law is not changed before the summer break, the Deutschlandticket will have to “become at least €10 more expensive this year”, he added. 

Can the government guarantee the funding of the €49 ticket?

Chancellor Olaf Scholz recently tried to dampen these concerns. The SPD politician called the Deutschlandticket a huge achievement for Germany during a government questioning round in the Bundestag.

He assured that the government – as he had discussed with state premiers – would create the financial framework conditions to keep the ticket afloat, with an amendment to the Regionalisation Act set to be made.

But even if funding can be arranged for the current year, it remains to be seen whether the €1.5 billion boost from the federal and state governments will be sufficient in 2025.

The Association of German Transport Companies said it’s concerned that the ticket – despite all the praise from politicians – is not secure in the long term.

“It is good that the conference of transport ministers on Monday can contribute to clarity by committing to the permanent establishment of the ticket,” said VDV President Ingo Wortmann, adding that Finance Minister Christian Lindner and Transport Minister Volker Wissing have so far failed to do this.

Meanwhile, environmental protection organisation Greenpeace suggested taking money earmarked for building new Autobahns and ploughing it into local public transport instead to finance the ticket.

“The safest way to renovate crumbling bridges and finance the Deutschlandticket is to stop the construction of more motorways,” said Greenpeace mobility expert Marion Tiemann. “Then all resources can be channelled into the renovation and there would still be enough money for a long-term Deutschlandticket.”

Lower Saxony’s transport minister Olaf Lies (SPD), however, believes that the price of the ticket will have to rise regardless.

“We know that personnel and energy costs will continue to rise in the coming years,” he said. “We cannot completely decouple the ticket price from this. But we need a stable and secure price if we want to achieve the climate targets and offer a mobility service.”

With reporting from DPA

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