Oslo airport was forced to halt all flights on Wednesday due to unprecedented snowfall and extreme weather conditions in the region. Avinor, the airport operator, took the rare step of suspending flights at 12:35 pm local time, citing safety concerns as large volumes of snow and strong winds obscured the lights on the runway. Cathrine Framholt, Avinor’s communications manager, expressed her expectation that flights would resume by 2:30 pm, but warned that the situation could still be reassessed before then. “I don’t know when this last happened, but it is unusual,” she said. “The weather is extreme.”
The unnamed Avinor spokesperson echoed Framholt’s assessment, stating that “this is extremely rare… There is so much snow that the pilots cannot see the lights on the ground.” Although flights were suspended, the airport remained open to passengers, albeit with some disruptions, as Avinor’s website also experienced technical issues.
The severe weather conditions affecting the Norwegian capital and surrounding areas sent shockwaves across the region. Greater Oslo woke up to heavy snow, causing widespread disruption to public transport. Train traffic in eastern Norway was suspended indefinitely, while the Oslo subway and bus services were severely delayed or cancelled. The situation was little better in Sweden, where authorities warned of “nasty surprises” on the roads as a snowstorm and gale-force winds brought chaos to western areas and Skåne in the south.
Extreme Snowfall and Wind Forces Oslo Airport ClosurePolice and emergency services advised residents to stay indoors and avoid traveling, while the Swedish Transport Administration urged motorists to exercise extreme caution before venturing out. The Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute issued nine snow warnings, forecasting significant snowfall and blizzard conditions in Stockholm, Uppland, and Norrland.
As the storm raged on, conditions in Sweden were expected to gradually improve by Thursday, followed by a period of extreme cold and temperatures plummeting to as low as -20C at the weekend.