Air travel improves after holiday

Air-travel conditions have been steadily improving across Europe after bad weather in the run-up to Christmas led to the cancellation of hundreds of flights.

Prague's Ruzyně Airport was operating a full schedule Dec. 27, after canceling just three flights to Frankfurt and Kraków over the holiday weekend.

The airport was forced to cancel dozens of flights each day in the week before Christmas Day - although its own facilities were not affected - because of problems at destinations around Europe.

The severe snowstorms forced airports to close in Frankfurt, Paris and London among others, leaving tens of thousands of holiday passengers stranded, CNN reported.

Flights and trains were also severely affected in other parts of France, Germany and the United Kingdom as well as in Belgium, Italy and Ireland.

Hundreds of people were forced to sleep overnight at airports in Paris and Brussels on Christmas Eve because of the cancellations, according to the BBC, with airport officials distributing food, beds and children's toys.

Hundreds of people were forced to sleep in temporary accommodation in Bornholm on the same night, after the Danish island became completely cut off from the mainland.

Earlier on Dec. 24, some 2,000 passengers were evacuated from Terminal 2E at Paris' Charles de Gaulles Airport over fears that two feet of snow on the roof could cause a repeat of 2004's collapse in the same building, which killed four people.

Meanwhile, continuing snowfall and icy roads have been complicating traffic in many parts of the Czech Republic.

Many of the country's smaller roads have been made hazardous due to ice and snow drifts caused by the snow showers and a sharp drop in temperatures over recent days.

Traffic police have warned drivers to exercise caution and to make sure their vehicles are equipped for driving in snow.

About 100,000 Czechs were planning a foreign vacation over the holidays, the Czech Association of Tour Operators and Travel Agencies (AČCKA) said in a statement, with another 200,000 taking short breaks in the countryside.

The vast majority of Czechs opted to stay at home or with family for the holidays, the AČCKA added.

Bill Lehane can be reached at
blehane@praguepost.com