Freezing rain is causing icy conditions in the eastern part of the country, leading to major disruptions to traffic. Fire departments are responding to accidents on an ongoing basis, rail services are experiencing delays and cancellations, and Vienna International Airport is closed until 11:00 a.m.
Low temperatures and sleet have created a thick layer of ice across the entire apron and taxiways. Immediately after de-icing, surfaces freeze over again. As a result, operations at Vienna International Airport in Schwechat (Bruck an der Leitha district) have come to a standstill. Safe flight operations are currently not possible, airport authorities said.
Although winter maintenance crews have been working since the night, arriving flights are currently being diverted, including to Munich, Frankfurt, Cologne, and Venice. Scheduled departures are delayed or canceled. Thousands of passengers are affected.
Passengers are advised to check the status of their flights on airline websites. If flights are canceled, travelers are asked not to come to the airport. Intensive efforts are underway to resume flight operations as soon as possible. Authorities expect the situation to persist until around 11:00 a.m.
Numerous traffic accidents
Fire departments in Lower Austria are continuously deployed to recover vehicles that have slid off the road. “In the past twelve hours, we have had to carry out around 50 vehicle recoveries,” fire service spokesperson Klaus Stebal said in an interim report early Tuesday.
Several accidents have also occurred on highways, including the Western Motorway (A1), the Southern Motorway (A2), and the Vienna Outer Ring Motorway (A21). According to police, there have so far only been property damage and minor injuries. Emergency services also warned of extremely slippery sidewalks and urged increased caution.
Rail travel warning
Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) issued a travel warning on Monday, urging passengers to postpone non-essential trips. As expected, Tuesday morning saw numerous delays and several cancellations, including services from St. Pölten to Amstetten or Vienna West Station, as well as from Wiener Neustadt to Vienna. ÖBB long-distance services to the airport were canceled Tuesday morning. Suburban rail (S-Bahn) services and the City Airport Train (CAT) were not affected. Trains on the southern line between Vienna and Graz are terminating and departing from Vienna-Meidling instead of Vienna Central Station, according to ORF traffic reports.
