Istanbul Airport roof collapses after freak snowstorm

Two cities that are usually sweltering have been hit by a devastating snowstorm, with the blizzard causing damage to one of Europe’s biggest airports.

Cars abandoned after being snowed in on an Athens highway. Picture: Sotiris Dimitropoulos/Eurokinissi/AFP​

Stranded passengers have kicked off protests at Istanbul Airport and soldiers worked through the night to try to dig out snowed-in drivers in Athens after a freak blizzard triggered chaos across the Mediterranean.

Istanbul officials ordered all private vehicles off the slush-covered streets and residents in Athens abandoned their cars in drifting snow as basic services such as food delivery in both cities ground to a halt.

The problems were compounded in Athens and across some of Greece’s scenic islands by power cuts in the unusual winter freeze.

“I have had no electricity since Monday evening,” pensioner Dionyssis Kiourkakis told AFP in Athens.

“This is shameful. If I were younger, I would leave Greece.”

Cars abandoned after being snowed in at Athens. Picture: Sotiris Dimitropoulos/Eurokinissi/AFP

The snow-covered Lycabettus Hill in Athens. Picture: Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP

Most of the international attention has focused on the fate of Istanbul’s main airport – a gleaming glass-and-steel structure that offers connecting flights spanning much of the world.

The blizzard closed the busy airport for the first time since it took over from the old Ataturk Airport as the new hub for Turkish Airlines in 2019.

The first flight since Monday afternoon landed from the Venezuelan capital Caracas after one of the runways was finally cleared to accept a few flights.

But the other two runways remained snowed under and just a handful of the hundreds of delayed flights were scheduled to take off or land on Tuesday, local time.

Parked planes on the snow-covered tarmac in Istanbul. Picture: Burak Kara/Getty Images

People outside the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. Picture: Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Busiest airport in Europe

Istanbul Airport serviced more than 37 million passengers last year despite disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

In 2020, it took the title of Europe’s busiest airport thanks to Turkey’s decision to allow travellers to freely enter the country in a bid to boost tourism revenue.

Last year, Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport came in as the second busiest by accepting nearly 31 million passengers.

Traditional capitals of European travel before the pandemic – including London and Paris – have seen their passenger numbers implode as global carriers rearrange flight patterns to fit the new realities.

Yet critics of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have long questioned his decision to place the airport on a remote patch along the Black Sea coast that is often covered with fog in winter.

Istanbul’s second airport on its Asian side near the Sea of Marmara stayed open throughout the storm.

Passengers grounded at airport

Numerous passengers stuck aboard stranded flights took to Twitter to air their grievances over the airport’s customer service and lack of updates.

“Not even a bottle of water offered. Zero concern for women with children,” stranded passenger Chris Wiggett wrote on Twitter.

Images tweeted from inside the packed airport on Tuesday showed a frustrated crowd chanting: “We need a hotel.”

Riot police have been deployed in Istanbul Airport as a group of stranded tourists protested the cancellation of flights due to heavy snowfall#Istanbul#Turkeypic.twitter.com/EclJFuVSHL

— Ruptly (@Ruptly) January 25, 2022

The airport countered by tweeting a statement saying it had distributed 27,500 lunch boxes and offered access to free Wi-Fi.

The Istanbul mayor’s office said some parts of the city of 16 million people had recorded 85cm of snow.

The Istanbul governor’s office closed the region’s universities until yesterday and announced a temporary suspension of non-emergency traffic into the city from both its Asian and European sides.

Chaos in Athens amid blizzard

The situation appeared just as chaotic in Greece.

Officials reported a “superhuman” effort had managed to clear the number of vehicles stranded along the main highway encircling Athens from 1200 to 500 by last night, local time.

People make their way through the snow in the tourist area of Plaka in Athens. Picture: Milos Bicanski/Getty Images

Even Athens’ beaches were covered in snow. Picture: Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP

The Greek government declared Tuesday and Wednesday as public holidays in a bid to limit the number of daily commuters and help ongoing efforts to clear the streets.

But the unscheduled days off did little to lift Greeks’ spirits in the middle of the winter freeze.

The Athens public prosecutor’s office opened an investigation as officials traded blame over who was responsible for the circular highway’s disruptive closure.

Greek civil protection minister Christos Stylianides issued a formal apology while assigning responsibility onto the private motorway management company Attiki Odos.

The management company also said it was sorry but blamed the problems on “vehicle breakdowns and lack of experience of motorists”.

– with AFP