An awful snowstorm has covered most of the part of eastern Mediterranean. Due to this, there are blackouts and flights in the region are shut temporarily. Not just flights, but even the airport is closed too. Considering the storm the Istanbul authorities have decided to shut down Turkey’s Istanbul Airport on Monday.
The Istanbul Airport is known for being the busiest of all time. It’s the busiest airport in all of Europe. Last year, the airport served around 37 million passengers which made it one of the most important airway hubs in the world. But the bad weather led a cargo terminal’s roof to collapse under heavy snow. Soon after the collapse, the travel officials expressed their intentions to close down the structure.
According to an official, the glass and steel were first shut down around the time when the facility replaced Istanbul’s old Ataturk Airport and became the new hub for Turkish Airlines in 2019. Though the incident left no injuries still it has grounded several flights. Flights from the Middle East to Asia, Africa, Europe grounded. The airport management tweeted and said that due to adverse conditions, all flights have been temporarily stopped for air safety.
At present, the airport has extended this suspicion two times while remarking everything is frozen. The storm has forced the administration to close down everything. All operations and institutions such as schools, vaccination centers, and so on are wrapped up until the storm ends. Because of its havoc, traffic has turned into a bigger issue. At the start the snowfall was nice and people rejoiced with the snow. However, later the snowfall proved a major headache for residents.
Right now, the snowstorm has affected more than 16 million people. The circumstances have led to a halt on shopping at malls that are shut down. Moreover, food stalls, restaurants, and delivery are closed too. The heavy snowfall has also affected refugee camps built in the area.
The storm has hindered roadways all over Turkey. From regions spread across Europe to regions near Greece. Whereas in Greece, the overnight temperatures climbed to -14 degrees Celcius. As a result of the storm, schools, as well as vaccination centers, were closed in Athens too.