An ice storm brought air traffic at Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) to a standstill early Thursday, as snow and freezing rain temporarily grounded all departures and forced airlines to cancel or delay multiple flights. Several inbound flights were also affected.
Regional broadcaster RBB reported that planes could not be de-iced because rain was freezing on contact, quickly coating aircraft and runways in ice.
Conditions improved later in the morning, though BER warned travelers to monitor their flights. “Departures are resuming, but flight cancellations and delays may still occur,” the airport posted on X.
According to FlightAware as of 12 p.m. EST, 71 flights had been cancelled and 126 delayed today.
The storm also disrupted ground transport. Snow and ice shut down aboveground sections of Berlin’s U-Bahn, interrupted several S-Bahn commuter lines, and caused rail delays on Deutsche Bahn’s InterCity Express (ICE) route between Berlin and Hannover. Roads across the region were similarly affected, with icy conditions making travel hazardous.
