Heavy snowfall at Munich Airport left hundreds of passengers stranded during the night of February 19 to 20, 2026 on aircraft parked on remote stands, after departures were first delayed and then abruptly cancelled.

Munich Airport apologized expressly to the passengers affected:

“We are aware that the situation on Thursday evening was difficult and hard to understand for passengers. We sincerely apologize to the passengers affected.

A total of six flights with around 600 passengers were affected. Five of these were operated by the Lufthansa Group and one by Air Arabia.

Under normal circumstances, passengers would be transported back to the terminal by bus. However, no buses were available during the night. Cabin crew reportedly informed passengers approximately every 30 minutes that attempts were being made to arrange ground transport.

Between midnight and 5 a.m., Munich is subject to night flight regulations, which only allow flights with individual approval from the Ministry of Transport. In order to support as many flights as possible, a special flight permit was obtained and, as an exception, aircraft were sent onto the tarmac until 1 a.m.

Around 02:00, passengers were told that Munich Airport was effectively closed and that bus drivers had gone home.

With no transport available, passengers remained on the parked aircraft until morning.