As of: January 18, 2024, 4:53 p.m
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Passengers wait for a train in the main station.
© Marijan Murat/dpa
Students are happy about a day off, tobogganers are happy about winter fun.
But anyone who has to travel by car, bus, train or plane needs strong nerves.
Frankfurt/Main - Black ice and snowfall also affected road, rail and air traffic in Hesse on Thursday.
However, improvement was in sight: The German Weather Service in Offenbach announced calm winter weather for the next few days.
Plane take-offs at Frankfurt Airport were temporarily suspended on Wednesday due to freezing rain, and hundreds of flights were canceled on Thursday due to snow and ice.
More than 300 of a total of around 1,000 flights were canceled, said a Fraport spokesman, adding: “The winter service was in full operation.” Since flights had been canceled in advance due to the expected weather conditions, there was “orderly operation” in the terminals. .
Passengers would continue to be asked to check the status of their flight on the airlines' websites before traveling to the airport.
Truck drivers and drivers also needed patience, especially on motorways in northern, eastern and central Hesse.
Some were stuck in traffic for over twelve hours and were provided with hot drinks and blankets by the German Red Cross.
The Fulda police headquarters also reported kilometers of traffic jams on highways 4, 5 and 7 on Thursday. By Wednesday evening nothing was happening there: several trucks were blocking the slippery roads.
In northern Hesse, the situation on Autobahn 7 was also tense.
A police spokesman reported “significant obstructions towards the south”.
In total, the police headquarters in Kassel recorded over 100 accidents in northern Hesse since Wednesday afternoon, and according to initial findings, no one was seriously injured.
In Central Hesse there were traffic jams on the A5, and there were around 40 traffic accidents on slippery roads by midday on Thursday.
It was initially not known whether people were seriously injured.
In Bad Nauheim in the morning, a winter service vehicle slipped into a bus stop, but there were no people there.
In the city of Limburg, among others, winter service was active almost around the clock.
“The last time we had such a massive effort was in 2010,” recalled the building yard’s department head, Michael Menier.
Snow and ice also caused restrictions on buses and trains, especially in northern and central Hesse.
The regional train between Marburg and Bad Laasphe as well as trains on the route between Marburg and Korbach were completely canceled on Thursday morning, as the railway reported.
The North Hessian Transport Association (NVV) went on strike on Thursday night due to the many requests from the servers.
Instead of a list of disruptions, only the text appeared: “Due to the current weather situation, the server is unfortunately unable to answer all requests at times.
We apologize for any inconvenience."
According to a spokeswoman, buses in northern Hesse were more affected than train traffic.
The only exception was the Kurhessenbahn from Korbach towards North Rhine-Westphalia, where operations did not begin until late in the morning.
“Delays and occasional cancellations must continue to be expected as the day progresses, but overall it is hoped that the overall situation will slowly improve,” the NVV announced on its website.
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“In view of the heavy snowfall from early yesterday afternoon, we got through this winter day very well,” said the CEO of the Kasseler Verkehrs-Gesellschaft (KVG), Michael Maxelon.
All tram lines and Regiotrams were running as planned; there were restrictions on bus journeys due to slippery roads.
The subways and trams in Frankfurt also got off lightly, as the Frankfurt Transport Company (VGF) reported.
Despite icy platforms, fallen trees and frozen overhead lines, operations were hardly affected.
Because of the weather conditions, school was canceled in some districts on Thursday, as it was on Wednesday.
For example, the Lahn-Dill district and the Limburg-Weilburg district reported on Facebook that distance learning was being offered to students.
According to the press release, there was also no compulsory attendance in the Gießen district and the Vogelsberg district.
The Werra-Meißner district recommended distance learning to schools.
According to the district, numerous schools in the Main-Kinzig district also canceled in-person classes on Thursday.
The snowfall brought joy not only to students, but also to winter sports fans.
“We have opened a toboggan lift and a drag lift, and another lift will be used at the weekend,” said a spokesman for the Wasserkuppe ski area.
The Willingen ski area reported very good winter sports conditions on its website and added: “We are looking forward to a sunny weekend!” dpa