Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

TRAVEL NEWS

Dormouse causes hours-long power outage at Frankfurt airport

A small rodent caused a power outage at Frankfurt airport on Monday night, leading to various problems.

Published: 6 August 2024 13:19 CEST
Passengers look at the departures board at Frankfurt airport.
Passengers look at the departures board at Frankfurt airport. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Marcus Brandt

A power outage at Germany’s biggest airport could cause severe disruption and cancellation of hundreds of flights. 

But when a small rodent, thought to be a dormouse, gnawed through a cable on Monday, it was just before the nightly flight ban started.

It meant there were minimal problems to passengers at Frankfurt airport – although some people were not able to collect their luggage. 

The power went out around 11 pm on Monday, with emergency generators kicking in shortly after. 

The rodent caused a short circuit in the transformer station at the centre of the airport, a spokesperson for energy supplier Syna told regional broadcasters Hessenschau. The incident resulted in smoke and a power cut. When the fire and rescue services arrived to assess the situation, the animal was found dead next to the gnawed cable.

File photo shows a small rodent.

File photo shows a small rodent. Image by Stefan from Pixabay

According to an airport spokesperson, areas A and B in Terminal 1 were affected, with emergency generators providing dim lighting through the night.

According to the spokesperson, there weren’t too many problems due to the late hour. Flights are not allowed to take-off or land between 11 pm and 5 am. Safety at Germany’s largest airport was not jeopardised at any time, the airport was keen to stress. 

After the issue was identified, the power supply was restored gradually as airport systems restarted, the spokesperson said.

The first planes were able to take off and land on Tuesday morning as planned, but there was still a risk of delays and some flight cancellations during the course of the day in Terminal 1, which is mainly used by Lufthansa. 

Frankfurt airport said on social media: “Due to a technical problem, flight delays and cancellations can be expected at Frankfurt airport this morning.

“Passengers are requested to check the status of their flight on their airline’s website before traveling to the airport and allow extra time for your journey.”

1,000 cases left behind 

One issue that happened early in the night was that around 1,000 suitcases belonging to passengers were left behind because the baggage carousels came to a standstill. The airport spokesperson said the luggage was now being delivered to the customers affected. 

There were also problems in various spots around the airport due to the power outage, and two large hotels nearby were also affected.

It’s not the first time that rodents in Frankfurt have led to significant problems. 

In December 2022, mice bit through cables at traffic lights on the busy Friedberger Landstraße/Alleenring junction, causing a short circuit. The power outage on the lights lasted days. 

There have also been repeated reports of mouse infestations at Frankfurt Airport. According to the airport operator Fraport, around 5,000 mousetraps have been set up in the buildings.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

TRAVEL NEWS

Germany begins expanded border checks to limit migrant arrivals

Germany from Monday is expanding border controls to the frontiers with all nine of its neighbours to stop irregular migrants in a move that has sparked protests from other EU members.

Published: 16 September 2024 09:07 CEST
Germany begins expanded border checks to limit migrant arrivals

The government announced the sweeping measure following a string of deadly extremist attacks that have stoked public fears and boosted support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser on Sunday said that the step aimed to limit irregular migration and “put a stop to criminals and identify and stop Islamists at an early stage”.

The border controls will be in place for an initial six months and are expected to include temporary structures at land crossings and spot checks by federal police.

Poland and Austria have voiced concern and the European Commission has warned that members of the 27-nation bloc must only impose such steps in exceptional circumstances.

Germany lies at the heart of Europe and borders nine countries that are part of the visa-free Schengen zone, designed to allow the free movement of people and goods.

Border controls with Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and Switzerland were already in place before the crackdown was announced.

These will now be expanded to Germany’s borders with France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark.

Faeser said the government hoped to minimise the impact on people living and working in border regions, promising “coordination with our neighbouring countries”. She also pointed out that there should be “targeted controls, not blanket controls”.

The interior ministry however noted that travellers should carry identification when crossing the border.

READ ALSO: How Germany’s increased border checks will affect travel from neighbouring countries

‘Islamist attacks’

In recent weeks, a string of extremist attacks have shocked Germany, fuelling rising public anger.

Last month, a man on a knife rampage killed three people and wounded eight more at a festival in the western city of Solingen.

The Syrian suspect, who has alleged links to the Islamic State group, had been intended for deportation but managed to evade authorities.

The enforcement failure set off a bitter debate which marked the run-up to two regional polls in the formerly communist east, where the anti-immigration AfD scored unprecedented results.

With national elections looming next year, Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government has been under intense political pressure to toughen its stance on migrants and asylum seekers.

READ ALSO: Debt, migration and the far-right – the big challenges facing Germany this autumn 

Scholz was in Uzbekistan on Sunday to sign a migration deal for workers to come to Germany, while simplifying deportation procedures in the opposite direction so that “those that must go back do go back”, the chancellor said.

Closer to home, the German government has presented plans to speed up deportations to European partners.

Under EU rules, asylum requests are meant to be handled by the country of arrival. The system has placed a huge strain on countries on the European periphery, where leaders have demanded more burden-sharing.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that Germany tightening its borders means that it would “essentially pass the buck to countries located on the outer borders of Europe”.

Austria’s Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said his country “will not accept people who are rejected from Germany”, while Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk condemned Germany’s move as “unacceptable”.

‘Welcome to the club’

Warsaw has also struggled with migration and accused Moscow of smuggling people from Africa and the Middle East into Europe by sending them through Belarus to the Polish border.

Berlin on Friday said that Tusk and Scholz had discussed the issue and agreed to strengthen EU external borders, “especially in view of the cynical instrumentalisation of migrants by Belarus”.

Hungary’s nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban, meanwhile, mocked the German chancellor on social media site X, writing: “Bundeskanzler Scholz, welcome to the club! #StopMigration.”

Germany took in more than a million asylum seekers in 2015-16, many of them Syrians, and has hosted over a million Ukrainians since the start of the Russian invasion in 2022.

The extra burden on municipal authorities and integration services in Germany needed to be “taken into account” when talking about new border controls, Berlin’s interior ministry said.

In the Netherlands, Prime Minister Dick Schoof on Friday unveiled the country’s strictest migration policy yet, saying it will request an opt-out from EU common policy on asylum next week.

A four-party coalition dominated by far-right firebrand Geert Wilders’s Freedom Party wants to declare an “asylum crisis” to curb the influx of migrants through a tough set of rules including border controls.

By Raphaelle LOGEROT with Celine LE PRIOUX in Berlin

SHOW COMMENTS