Helsinki: Thousands of tourists were stranded in northern Finland on Sunday after flights at Kittilä airport were cancelled due to severe cold. The temperature at the airport dropped to minus 37 degrees Celsius on Sunday morning, after several days of similar frigid weather, making de-icing of aircraft and other operations difficult, Finland’s national public broadcaster Yle reported.
The deep freeze is expected to continue in Kittilä, which is located in Finnish Lapland in the sparsely populated north, on Monday, when the Finnish Meteorological Institute predicts temperatures of almost minus 40 C.
Finns are generally used to frosty winter temperatures but this year’s cold, which has affected wide regions of northern, central and eastern Europe, is more severe than in other years.
In Germany, train passengers were still experiencing long delays and cancellations Sunday after rail operator Deutsche Bahn shut down all service in the north of the country on Friday due to strong snowfall.