A brutal Arctic front swept across central Poland overnight, sending temperatures plummeting to –22 °C at Warsaw’s Frederic Chopin Airport and forcing aviation authorities to slow runway operations to a crawl. The airport’s de-icing bay, designed for ten aircraft, quickly became congested as glycol trucks struggled to keep pace with a morning departure bank that ordinarily moves 25 aircraft an hour. LOT Polish Airlines proactively cancelled nine regional rotations and delayed a further 18 European services to free up scarce ground-handling capacity, while Wizz Air and Ryanair each warned passengers to expect rolling delays of up to three hours.
The bottleneck was compounded by the airport’s single-runway configuration during winter maintenance: RWY 11/29 is closed until February for a lighting upgrade, leaving RWY 15/33 as the only active strip. With visibility dipping below 350 m in blowing snow, the runway’s Category III instrument-landing system allowed arrivals to continue—but at reduced spacing to maintain safety margins on the icy surface. Airport operator PPL said snow-clearing convoys were dispatched every 35 minutes instead of the usual hourly cycle, further squeezing capacity.
![Deep Freeze Triggers Widespread Flight Delays at Warsaw Chopin Airport]()
For business travellers, the disruption landed at the worst possible time: the last week of January traditionally sees a surge of corporate traffic ahead of the February school-holiday lull. Multinational firms with regional headquarters in Warsaw scrambled to re-book executives on afternoon trains to Berlin and Kraków or switched meetings to virtual platforms. Logistics providers reported cargo backlogs of time-sensitive pharmaceuticals and automotive parts awaiting belly-hold space.
The Civil Aviation Authority reminded carriers that EU 261 compensation rules do not apply when “extraordinary circumstances”—such as severe weather—cause delays, but passengers remain entitled to meals, refreshments and hotel accommodation if the wait extends overnight. Travellers connecting onward in the Schengen Area were urged to monitor the validity of 24-hour transit windows now routinely recorded in the EU Entry/Exit System, as overstays could trigger automated warnings on re-entry. PPL expects operations to normalise once temperatures rise above –10 °C, forecast for late Tuesday.
If the cold snap strands you in Warsaw longer than planned and your visa clock is ticking, VisaHQ can help expedite Schengen extensions or arrange fresh Polish visas entirely online. Their dedicated portal for Poland (https://www.visahq.com/poland/) walks travellers through requirements, fees and application steps, delivering quick assistance when consulates and airline desks are overwhelmed by weather-related backlogs.
The bottleneck was compounded by the airport’s single-runway configuration during winter maintenance: RWY 11/29 is closed until February for a lighting upgrade, leaving RWY 15/33 as the only active strip. With visibility dipping below 350 m in blowing snow, the runway’s Category III instrument-landing system allowed arrivals to continue—but at reduced spacing to maintain safety margins on the icy surface. Airport operator PPL said snow-clearing convoys were dispatched every 35 minutes instead of the usual hourly cycle, further squeezing capacity.
For business travellers, the disruption landed at the worst possible time: the last week of January traditionally sees a surge of corporate traffic ahead of the February school-holiday lull. Multinational firms with regional headquarters in Warsaw scrambled to re-book executives on afternoon trains to Berlin and Kraków or switched meetings to virtual platforms. Logistics providers reported cargo backlogs of time-sensitive pharmaceuticals and automotive parts awaiting belly-hold space.
The Civil Aviation Authority reminded carriers that EU 261 compensation rules do not apply when “extraordinary circumstances”—such as severe weather—cause delays, but passengers remain entitled to meals, refreshments and hotel accommodation if the wait extends overnight. Travellers connecting onward in the Schengen Area were urged to monitor the validity of 24-hour transit windows now routinely recorded in the EU Entry/Exit System, as overstays could trigger automated warnings on re-entry. PPL expects operations to normalise once temperatures rise above –10 °C, forecast for late Tuesday.
If the cold snap strands you in Warsaw longer than planned and your visa clock is ticking, VisaHQ can help expedite Schengen extensions or arrange fresh Polish visas entirely online. Their dedicated portal for Poland (https://www.visahq.com/poland/) walks travellers through requirements, fees and application steps, delivering quick assistance when consulates and airline desks are overwhelmed by weather-related backlogs.
