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600 people were stuck overnight on a plane parked at Munich Airport.
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Heavy snow prevented their takeoff, and cancellations of other flights meant gates were full.
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Nighttime temperatures dropped below freezing as passengers tried to get some rest.
Hundreds of people were stranded on a parked plane last Thursday, spending an icy and snowy night.
Munich Airport said in a statement on Monday that six flights – carrying a total of around 600 passengers – were unable to take off before the 1am curfew was imposed due to bad weather.
Sven Otto, chief inspector of the northern Upper Bavaria police department, told Business Insider that the airport police department has prepared a report on the incident and is due to submit it to prosecutors on Tuesday.
He added that the affected passengers were yet to lodge a complaint with the police.
About 100 flights were canceled in Munich on Thursday as temperatures dropped into the 30s. The airport said there were long lines for de-icing aircraft and the runways were temporarily closed periodically to clear heavy snow.
Munich, Europe’s 10th busiest airport, normally closes at midnight but was given the green light to operate an hour later that day.
The airport said when the six flights failed to take off on time, there were not enough parking spaces in the terminal because all flights were cancelled.
However, passengers were unable to be transported to the terminal as “bus services were severely restricted” due to “the late hour and communication issues”.
Five of the flights were operated by Deutsche Lufthansa Group and one by UAE-based budget airline Air Arabia, according to the airport.
The airline “provided the best possible care to its passengers on board the aircraft,” the statement said. Although those on board expressed their anguish.
“We had no food or drinks and no blankets,” Søren Thieme, who was on board a Lufthansa plane, told Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet, which first reported the incident.
He said passengers on the canceled flight to Copenhagen asked if they could enter the airport but were told it was prohibited and that all bus drivers had gone home.
“We and the staff are all stuck here,” he told the newspaper.
Lufthansa and Air Arabia did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.
Munich Airport said it “unequivocally apologizes” to the affected passengers.
“Our top priority is always the safety and satisfaction of our passengers and these incidents do not meet our standards.”
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