Snow hinders European transport

Snow delayed flights in and out of some of Europe's major airports

Snowfall across large parts of western and northern Europe has caused chaos on the roads and at airports.

The wintry weather forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights in Germany, Denmark and Britain.

Belgium and Luxembourg faced road and rail delays, though the snow also led to the opening of several downhill ski runs in Belgium's southern hills.

The Franco-Belgian border was closed to lorries overnight due to the bad weather but re-opened later.

Flight cancellations

In Germany, the heavy snows caused the cancellation of 76 flights at Frankfurt international airport, the country's largest.

Authorities said two thirds of the remaining planes from Frankfurt were delayed.

In Munich 40 flights were cancelled due to snow in the region or to weather-related delays in other parts of Germany or Europe.

In Denmark, Scandinavian Airlines cancelled 53 flights out of Copenhagen's Kastrup airport on Thursday morning due to snow and a strike by a company that supplies the airport with kerosene.

A rare snowfall in Britain's capital led to cancellation of around 90 flights at London's Heathrow airport and others faced serious delays.

Hundreds of waiting passengers crowded terminals at London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports.

'Lots of accidents'

Drivers faced traffic jams and dozens have been injured

Freezing temperatures also caused chaos on Germany's roads, as stuck farm vehicles in three western states blocked autobahn routes for hours and delayed morning commuters.

"There are lots of accidents," a police spokesman in Dusseldorf told AFP.

Dozens of people were injured in crashes throughout the country.

Freezing conditions also caused problems in France, Brussels and the Netherlands.

In northern France, around 10 centimetres of snow fell overnight.

Huge traffic jams built up around Brussels and other cities, while 20 accidents were reported in the south-eastern region around Liege.

Rough seas

Further east, bad weather closed Russia's main Black Sea oil port of Novorossiisk on Thursday, and strong winds and currents led to the closure of the Bosphorus strait to tankers.

Some 58 daylight-restricted vessels were left waiting at both ends.

The waterway was re-opened to smaller ships carrying non-hazardous cargoes at 1400 GMT.