Hurricane Force Winds Cause Disruption At Frankfurt Airport

Hurricane-force winds are causing flight disruptions at one of Europe’s busiest airports. Frankfurt International Airport has seen diversions and go-arounds as flights deal with winds gusting up to 90 kilometers per hour. The German weather service has issued a level three severe weather warning (the second-highest level) in response to the strong winds.

Frankfurt Airport, Wind, Flight Disruption
Strong winds have been disrupting Frankfurt Airport this morning. Photo: Fraport

Most aircraft are pretty comfortable in a range of weather and winds. Just take a look at some of the crosswind landing videos on YouTube. However, extreme weather can cause issues for even the most skilled of pilots. While Frankfurt remains open to traffic, strong winds have been causing some disruption.

Gusting up to 90km per hour

Flights heading to Frankfurt Airport have been experiencing delays due to the inclement weather in Frankfurt this morning. According to METAR information from Frankfurt Airport, the situation was at its worst around 08:50, with winds gusting up to 48 knots (89km/h).

The situation has led to weather warnings for the entire region. The German weather service warns that wind gusts could reach 60 knots (110km/h). Due to this, the weather warning advises citizens to avoid staying outside due to the risk of falling objects.

Frankfurt Airport warned that flight disruptions and cancellations might occur as a result of the weather. While it seems that the worst of the storm has now passed, the airport is advising passengers to arrive at the airport early and allow extra time for the journey.

Flight diversions

As a result of the poor weather, some passengers ended up landing hundreds of miles from their intended destination. One of these flights was the Vistara UK25 service from Delhi to Frankfurt. The aircraft began its descent into Frankfurt at 08:00 local time, according to data from RadarBox.com.

Frankfurt Airport, Wind, Flight Disruption
Vistara’s Frankfurt passengers found themselves hundreds of miles from their destination this morning. Photo: RadarBox.com

The flight made an unsuccessful attempt to land in Frankfurt at around 08:40 and then entered a holding pattern to the airport’s southeast. After 20 minutes in the hold, the aircraft began to climb once more. The flight diverted to London Heathrow, the only other Vistara destination in the region right now. Next month, the airline will also launch flights to nearby Paris. Over an hour after leaving the Frankfurt area, the flight touched down at London Heathrow Airport.

Frankfurt Airport, Wind, Flight Disruption
The aircraft only made one attempt to land in Frankfurt. Photo: RadarBox.com

It’s unclear exactly what will happen to the passengers onboard the flight, especially given the UK’s current immigration requirements regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. The airline advised those affected to stay tuned to its Twitter feed for further updates.

Some packages may now also face a delay in reaching their final destination. Frankfurt Airport is one of Europe’s major freight hubs, which kept it Europe’s busiest airport by flight movements at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pilots of China Southern Cargo flight 407 also attempted to land at Frankfurt around 08:40 this morning. Rather than entering a holding pattern, the pilots quickly climbed again, diverting to nearby Brussels Airport.

Were you impacted by the severe weather at Frankfurt Airport this morning? Let us know in the comments!



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