Geneva Airport closed due to heavy snow ‘Beast from the East’

Zurich, March 1: The airport in the Swiss city of Geneva closed on Thursday due to bitterly cold weather that has hit many parts of Europe this week with snow and icy winds, causing travel chaos.

“Because of the prevailing weather conditions, Genève Aéroport is currently closed to air traffic until further notice,” the airport said on its website.

“We, therefore, advise passengers not to come to the airport for the time being.”

A Siberian weather system forecasters have called the “beast from the east” brought snow, strong winds and the coldest temperatures for years to many regions across Europe. The freeze is expected to continue.

Geneva airport recommended passengers check with their airlines on whether upcoming flights would be scheduled for departure.

The cold weather and snow, known as ‘the beast from the east’, were caused by a heatwave over the Arctic, which has seen temperatures there more than 20 degrees higher than normal and is expected to persist until the end of the week.

In the South and East of England, Kent, Surrey, Suffolk, and Sussex have had 10 cm of snow while Northeast England has seen up to 8 cm. The UK Meteorological Office forecasts that up to 40 cm of snow could fall in Northeast England and Scotland between Wednesday morning and Thursday.