A deep-low pressure system that meteorologists have dubbed “Quentin” roared across Germany in the early hours of 25 October, unleashing sustained winds of 100–120 km/h and peak gusts of up to 130 km/h along the North Sea coast. The German Meteorological Service (DWD) raised its second-highest Level-3 storm alert for eight federal states and urged residents to stay indoors.
Airports felt the impact first. Hamburg and Bremen pre-emptively cancelled their early-morning departures, while Frankfurt, Munich and Düsseldorf issued ground-handling slow-downs that rippled through airline schedules all day. Lufthansa scrubbed 78 domestic and European rotations and warned that long-haul aircraft arriving after 18:00 might be diverted. Travellers reported queue times of more than three hours at re-booking desks, and airport hotels around FRA and MUC reached full occupancy by mid-afternoon.
Germany’s rail operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) activated its severe-weather timetable after fallen trees blocked sections of the Cologne–Ruhr high-speed line and the Berlin–Hamburg corridor. ICE and IC services were either diverted or replaced by buses, extending journey times by up to 120 minutes. Local S-Bahn networks in Berlin and Hanover also experienced partial suspensions as maintenance crews cleared overhead lines of debris.
Road transport was no safer: the A7 near Hanover had to be closed in both directions when a lorry was blown onto its side, and motorway operators lowered speed limits to 80 km/h nationwide. The Association of German Insurers (GDV) estimated that wind damage to property and vehicles could exceed €85 million, a figure that would make “Quentin” the costliest October storm since 2017’s “Xavier”.
For mobility managers the event is a stark reminder to integrate real-time weather intelligence and multi-modal contingency plans into travel policies. Companies that issued push alerts through mobility apps were able to re-route employees onto early-evening flights via Zurich or Paris and to book hotel blocks before inventory vanished. Those that did not will be filing duty-of-care incident reports next week.
Airports felt the impact first. Hamburg and Bremen pre-emptively cancelled their early-morning departures, while Frankfurt, Munich and Düsseldorf issued ground-handling slow-downs that rippled through airline schedules all day. Lufthansa scrubbed 78 domestic and European rotations and warned that long-haul aircraft arriving after 18:00 might be diverted. Travellers reported queue times of more than three hours at re-booking desks, and airport hotels around FRA and MUC reached full occupancy by mid-afternoon.
Germany’s rail operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) activated its severe-weather timetable after fallen trees blocked sections of the Cologne–Ruhr high-speed line and the Berlin–Hamburg corridor. ICE and IC services were either diverted or replaced by buses, extending journey times by up to 120 minutes. Local S-Bahn networks in Berlin and Hanover also experienced partial suspensions as maintenance crews cleared overhead lines of debris.
Road transport was no safer: the A7 near Hanover had to be closed in both directions when a lorry was blown onto its side, and motorway operators lowered speed limits to 80 km/h nationwide. The Association of German Insurers (GDV) estimated that wind damage to property and vehicles could exceed €85 million, a figure that would make “Quentin” the costliest October storm since 2017’s “Xavier”.
For mobility managers the event is a stark reminder to integrate real-time weather intelligence and multi-modal contingency plans into travel policies. Companies that issued push alerts through mobility apps were able to re-route employees onto early-evening flights via Zurich or Paris and to book hotel blocks before inventory vanished. Those that did not will be filing duty-of-care incident reports next week.
