National flag carrier Turkish Airlines extended the suspension of its flights to and from Istanbul Airport until midnight Wednesday due to heavy snowfall, while winter weather snarled transport across the city.
Istanbul Aiport, Europe's busiest last year, also delayed its reopening on Tuesday as Turkey's biggest city began digging itself out of the major snowstorm that paralyzed traffic and disrupted services.
Rescue crews on Tuesday were forging ahead with efforts to clear major throughways in and around Istanbul, Daily Sabah reported.
A blizzard on Monday shut Istanbul Airport down for the first time since it took over from the Atatürk Airport as Turkish Airlines' new hub in 2019. It had warned that operations would be suspended throughout the night after grounding to a halt in the early afternoon.
Its press service said Tuesday that flights would not resume until at least 1 p.m. (10 a.m. GMT) over safety concerns. Istanbul’s second airport, Sabiha Gökçen, was operating limited services.
It added that passengers stuck aboard flights after the shutdown was announced had been fully evacuated by nightfall.
