site.btaSevere Weather Wreaks Havoc at Airports Across Turkiye

Turkiye has been gripped by transport chaos in the past few days due to unusually cold weather. It affected many parts of the country, including Istanbul, home to Istanbul Airport (on the European side) and Sabiha Gokcen Airport (on the Asian side).

A Siberian cold front brought heavy snowfall to Istanbul, a relatively rare occurrence in the largest Turkish city. Central and Eastern Anatolia were also severely impacted.

The situation at airports across the country remained difficult all day Sunday. National carrier Turkish Airlines cancelled many flights due to the bad weather. Budget airlines Pegasus and AJet also had to cancel several flights.

For three consecutive days, Turkish Airlines was unable to operate its morning flights to Sofia. Although the flight to the Bulgarian capital finally took off Sunday morning, it was significantly delayed. As a result, the flight from Sofia to Istanbul departed with a delay of about 2 hours and 40 minutes.

On Sunday, Turkish Airlines had to cancel many domestic flights, particularly those to cities in Eastern Anatolia, as well as some international routes. Due to massive delays, long queues formed at Istanbul Airport's Turkish Airlines counters with passengers rebooking missed connections, as witnessed by BTA's correspondent. Despite the disruptions, most travellers remained calm.

Flights at Sabiha Gokcen Airport also faced significant delays and cancellations.

On Monday, some flights from Istanbul Airport are still experiencing delays, with at least one flight, to Sinop (Central Turkiye), already cancelled, according to the airport's website.

Meanwhile, heightened security measures remain in place at airports across Turkiye. At Ankara Esenboga Airport, even arriving passengers are subject to baggage checks.

The weather is expected to improve from Monday, with temperatures rising significantly, according to Turkiye's meteorological service.

Istanbul Governor Davut Gul announced that schools in the city would reopen Monday. "I know you love snow days, but as of today, the weather is improving, so classes will resume," he joked on social media.