600 people stranded overnight on grounded planes after heavy snow

About 600 people spent a night trapped on parked airplanes at Munich Airport after heavy snowfall halted departures. Six flights were unable to take off before the airport's 1 a.m. curfew, and cancellations left no spare gates. Temperatures dropped below freezing as passengers tried to rest.

Around 100 flights were canceled that day, creating long lines to de-ice planes while runways were periodically closed to clear snow. Munich typically shuts at midnight but had permission to operate an hour later. When those six flights missed departure, there was nowhere to park at the terminal, and passengers could not be moved inside because "bus service was severely restricted" due to the late hour and communication problems, the airport said.

Five of the flights were operated by the Lufthansa Group and one by Air Arabia. The airport said airlines "provided the passengers with the best possible care on the aircraft" and "apologized expressly" to those affected.

Germany, Munich

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