Storm causes problems: London-Heathrow distributes planes to Frankfurt and Zurich
Their names are Ygenia, Eunice or Zeynep – and they’re keeping European aviation in suspense this week. Multiple storm lows are causing stress at airports across the continent.
It’s a ranking you don’t want to be number one on: the list of the most cancellations and delays of the day. Number one on Friday (February 18) is KLM. Just as their base Amsterdam-Schiphol tops the list of airports. According to the Flightaware portal, 261 flights of the Dutch airline were canceled as of 3 p.m., and another 34 were delayed. The cancellations make up 43 percent of the daily schedule.
British Airways also recorded many delays and cancellations, 19 percent of the planned flights were canceled. There were also diversions to other airports. For example, a British Airways Boeing 787-10 from Chicago could not land at Heathrow. Flight BA296 replaced to Zurich. A Lufthansa plane coming from Munich had to turn back. An Airbus A321 Neo operated by Middle Eastern Airlines from Beirut flew to Frankfurt instead of London.
Problems in Germany because of Ylenia
In Germany, there were already problems at airports on Thursday due to storm Ylenia. At Berlin Airport BER, the handling of aircraft had to be briefly interrupted because the gusts were too strong. There were also failures in Hamburg, and connections to Berlin, Munich and Hamburg were affected from Frankfurt.
And in Germany the next storm is already getting ready: Zeynep is supposed to hit the north on Friday evening and on Saturday night. Exciting maneuvers took place at many airports due to the weather. They inspire storm landings, others scare them – but apparently many want to take a look.
Record for Youtube channel
As the Guardian newspaper reports, the YouTube channel Big Jet TV reached record values. It shows live takeoffs and landings at Heathrow Airport while the operator comments on the landings like an avid sports commentator. “Get ready folks, this is going to be crazy,” he partially announced the landings.
Check out Big Jet TV for yourself in the video above.