Over 600 passengers at Munich Airport were forced to spend the night inside aircraft stranded on the airport apron. The crisis was caused by heavy snowfall and a shortage of airport bus drivers. The airport management and Lufthansa Group have officially apologized to the affected passengers, including travelers bound for Gdańsk, and announced prompt compensation payments for the inconveniences suffered.

Logistical and Staffing Failures

A lack of bus drivers prevented passengers from being transported from the aircraft to the terminal despite flight cancellations.

Scandalous Care Conditions

Passengers complained about a lack of food, water, and blankets during the many-hour wait on the airport apron.

Compensation Declaration

Lufthansa officially apologized to passengers and initiated the process of paying financial compensation for the incident.

Problem with Connections to Poland

Among the trapped aircraft was a plane operating a connection to Gdańsk.

A serious logistical incident at Munich Airport led to approximately 600 passengers being trapped in six aircraft that were unable to take off due to heavy snowfall. Although initially reported as 500 people, final data confirmed the larger scale of the event. Passengers, including travelers heading to Copenhagen and Gdańsk, had to spend the entire night in cramped aircraft cabins because the airport was unable to provide bus transport back to the terminal. The causes cited were a driver shortage and extreme weather conditions that prevented the efficient evacuation of people from the aircraft on the apron. Witness accounts are dramatic and cast doubt on the airport authorities' statements. While official communications assured that passengers were not in danger and were cared for "bestmögliche" (as best as possible), travelers complained about a lack of food, drinks, and blankets. One Danish passenger described the situation as critical, emphasizing that there were small children on the plane without a warm meal. Lufthansa Group admitted that unacceptable failures had occurred and declared full readiness to pay financial compensation. Munich Airport, opened at its current location in 1992, is Germany's second most important transit hub after Frankfurt. Despite its modern infrastructure, extreme weather phenomena in the Bavarian Alps regularly test its capacity.Work is currently underway to clarify why emergency procedures failed at such a crucial moment. The airport authorities have announced the implementation of immediate process improvements to avoid a repeat of similar chaos. Passengers on flight LH2446 to Copenhagen were only evacuated by buses in the morning, after many hours of waiting in uncertainty. This crisis has highlighted staffing problems in ground handling, which have become a persistent issue for European aviation since the pandemic. „Lufthansa hat noch am Freitag mit den betroffenen Passagieren Kontakt aufgenommen. Die Gäste erhalten entsprechende Entschädigungszahlungen” (Lufthansa contacted the affected passengers as early as Friday. The guests will receive appropriate compensation payments.) — Lufthansa Spokesperson Initial vs Actual Incident Data: Number of trapped passengers: 500 people → 600 people; Number of trapped aircraft: unknown → 6 aircraft