Snow hampers air traffic at Geneva airport

The wintry conditions in Switzerland have affected traffic in many parts of the country for a second consecutive day.

Geneva airport temporarily suspended flights for several hours on Friday morning to allow ground services to clear the runway from the fresh snow.

The airport is expected to re-open again around midday, according to the airport authorities.

Officials recommend passengers contact the airline to check the status of their planned flights.

Heavy snowfall has also been reported from other parts of the country, notably in the southern canton of Ticino on Friday, mainly affecting road traffic.

However, Switzerland’s main airport in Zurich was less affected by the bad weather. Only a few flights were cancelled.

The snowfall has caught many people by surprise, hampering road and rail traffic on Monday. Meteorologists measured temperatures of up to minus 40 degrees Celsius (-40° degrees Fahrenheit) in the Alps last week.

The weather is expected to improve slightly at the weekend with temperatures around 9 degrees Celsius, according to the official weather service, MeteoSwiss.