A sudden winter onslaught in Bavaria has led to unprecedented paralysis at Munich Airport. Approximately 600 passengers, including Polish citizens, were forced to spend the night from Sunday to Monday aboard grounded aircraft. Ground services were unable to provide transport to the terminals, sparking a wave of criticism directed at airport authorities and the national carrier Lufthansa, which is accused of serious organizational failures.
Night on the Airport Apron
Nearly 600 people were trapped on planes for an entire night due to a lack of transport to the terminal.
Lufthansa's Apology
The carrier and airport management admitted to operational errors and issued official apologies.
Global Disruptions
Storm Hernando in the USA caused numerous transatlantic flight cancellations across Europe.
A winter onslaught in southern Germany paralyzed operations at the country's second-largest airport. According to the latest data, around 600 passengers, mostly traveling with Lufthansa, spent nearly ten hours aboard aircraft parked on the apron. Although the planes had landed, crews could not release passengers due to a lack of available shuttle buses and paralyzed taxiways. The airport's infrastructure was blocked by extreme snowfall and icing, which prevented the safe positioning of stairs and passenger transport. Munich Airport, opened in 1992, is a key transportation hub for Germany. As Lufthansa's main hub for flights to Southern Europe and North America, it is a critical element of European transport infrastructure, and its disruptions generate losses amounting to millions of euros across the entire aviation industry.The situation has sparked outrage among the public and passengers, who reported scandalous conditions on board. Travelers pointed to a lack of reliable information from the crews and an insufficient supply of meals and drinks. Following the wave of criticism, airport authorities and Lufthansa issued official apologies to those affected, assuring them that corrective actions would be taken. Legal experts indicate that passengers are entitled to due compensation under EU regulations. Although there have been suggestions of possible criminal proceedings for deprivation of liberty, the prosecutor's office is currently focused on analyzing potential breaches of safety procedures. 600 — passengers spent the night trapped on planes The crisis in Europe coincided with extreme weather conditions in the United States. Winter storm Hernando, classified as a severe blizzard, struck the US East Coast, forcing the cancellation of hundreds of transatlantic flights. Problems also affected Irish airports, such as Dublin and Shannon, where cancellations resulted directly from the inability to land at US hubs hit by the storm. This situation further complicated the plight of transit passengers in Munich, closing alternative travel routes to North America. „Es war ein kompletter Breakdown des Systems. Die Leute waren erschöpft, und das Einzige, was wir tun konnten, war durch das Flugzeugfenster auf das Terminal zu starren.” (It was a complete breakdown of the system. People were exhausted, and the only thing we could do was stare at the terminal through the airplane window.) — Witness to the event