A heavy snow-storm that swept across southern Germany on Thursday night paralysed operations at Munich International Airport and left around 500 travellers trapped in five aircraft on the remote apron until the early hours of Friday. According to airport officials, more than 100 flights were cancelled after runways became slick with ice and visibility dropped below regulated minima. In several cases crews had already completed boarding and push-back when take-off clearances were withdrawn. With all gates occupied and bus capacity exhausted, ground staff were unable to disembark the passengers, who spent up to seven hours on board.
Lufthansa confirmed that three of the affected flights were long-haul services—including LH 768 to Singapore—while two regional Air Dolomiti rotations to Graz and Venice were also hit. Crew members provided snacks, blankets and inflight entertainment, but passengers reported on social media that toilet capacities and cabin temperatures became a concern as the night wore on. A Danish family connecting from Bangkok to Copenhagen spoke of small children sleeping on the floor and a shortage of drinking water.
Travellers suddenly forced to reroute or extend their stay often discover that visa validity and transit documentation become critical pain points. VisaHQ can step in here, helping passengers secure urgent Schengen extensions, alternative country transit visas or simply clarifying entry rules when itineraries change unexpectedly. Their online platform (https://www.visahq.com/germany/) streamlines applications and offers live support, giving storm-stranded flyers one less headache to worry about while they wait for the next available flight.
![Snow Chaos at Munich Airport Forces 500 Passengers to Spend the Night on Board]()
The incident throws a spotlight on the vulnerability of hub operations during extreme weather and the limits of contingency planning. Munich, Germany’s second-largest airport for intercontinental traffic, operates under a strict night-flight curfew between 01:00 and 05:00. Although authorities issued special dispensations, de-icing backlogs and further snowfall meant that the flights could not depart before the curfew expired. Once the curfew was in force, apron bus movements were also curtailed, compounding the logistical impasse.
For corporate mobility managers the episode underscores the importance of real-time traveller tracking and duty-of-care alerts. Companies with employees on the stranded flights faced immediate accommodation, rebooking and per-diem issues in a market suddenly saturated with displaced travellers. Travel risk consultants advise building weather-related force-majeure clauses into service-level agreements with airlines and ground handlers and ensuring that travellers carry EU261 delay coverage.
In the medium term, aviation analysts expect the airport operator FMG to face questions over its winter-service staffing and parking-stand allocation strategy. Lufthansa has already hinted at seeking compensation for the operational knock-on effects, while passenger-rights groups are preparing collective claims. With climate models predicting more frequent severe snowfall events in Central Europe, Munich may have to revisit its snow-clearance capacity to protect the reliability expected by global business passengers.
Lufthansa confirmed that three of the affected flights were long-haul services—including LH 768 to Singapore—while two regional Air Dolomiti rotations to Graz and Venice were also hit. Crew members provided snacks, blankets and inflight entertainment, but passengers reported on social media that toilet capacities and cabin temperatures became a concern as the night wore on. A Danish family connecting from Bangkok to Copenhagen spoke of small children sleeping on the floor and a shortage of drinking water.
Travellers suddenly forced to reroute or extend their stay often discover that visa validity and transit documentation become critical pain points. VisaHQ can step in here, helping passengers secure urgent Schengen extensions, alternative country transit visas or simply clarifying entry rules when itineraries change unexpectedly. Their online platform (https://www.visahq.com/germany/) streamlines applications and offers live support, giving storm-stranded flyers one less headache to worry about while they wait for the next available flight.
The incident throws a spotlight on the vulnerability of hub operations during extreme weather and the limits of contingency planning. Munich, Germany’s second-largest airport for intercontinental traffic, operates under a strict night-flight curfew between 01:00 and 05:00. Although authorities issued special dispensations, de-icing backlogs and further snowfall meant that the flights could not depart before the curfew expired. Once the curfew was in force, apron bus movements were also curtailed, compounding the logistical impasse.
For corporate mobility managers the episode underscores the importance of real-time traveller tracking and duty-of-care alerts. Companies with employees on the stranded flights faced immediate accommodation, rebooking and per-diem issues in a market suddenly saturated with displaced travellers. Travel risk consultants advise building weather-related force-majeure clauses into service-level agreements with airlines and ground handlers and ensuring that travellers carry EU261 delay coverage.
In the medium term, aviation analysts expect the airport operator FMG to face questions over its winter-service staffing and parking-stand allocation strategy. Lufthansa has already hinted at seeking compensation for the operational knock-on effects, while passenger-rights groups are preparing collective claims. With climate models predicting more frequent severe snowfall events in Central Europe, Munich may have to revisit its snow-clearance capacity to protect the reliability expected by global business passengers.
