Istanbul, Turkey (Reuters) – As the country’s largest metropolis was blanketed in exceptionally heavy snow that brought transportation to a halt, Turkish authorities despatched troops to clear highways and ordered military helicopters to carry the sick to hospitals.
Following the snowfall the night before, a temporary ban on motorcyclists and private automobiles went into place on Tuesday morning. Schools and retail malls were also closed as the people was advised to stay at home due to forecasts of much colder weather in the following days.
“The main issue is that our citizens not go outside as much as they can in these stormy conditions,” said Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu. “We have areas where the snow has reached 80 centimetres (2.6 feet), and in most of the city the snow range has been 30 – 50 centimetres (1-1.5 feet),” Imamoglu added.
Istanbul’s major roadways were closed overnight, including the northern motorway that connects to the city’s main international airport, the E-5 highway that runs east-west across the city, and routes to the capital, Ankara. Thousands of motorists were trapped on roadways, according to authorities, as snowfall intensified during rush hour as commuters returned home. Istanbul’s governor announced the opening of 71 mosques to give shelter for individuals trapped on the city’s roads.
“We had a really difficult night, and unfortunately, people were trapped on highways due to heavy snow and freezing weather,” Adil Karaismailoglu, the minister of transport and infrastructure, said during a news conference in Istanbul on Tuesday afternoon. Many cars had been abandoned by drivers on highways, according to Karaismailoglu, and work was being done to clear them.
On Monday, weather conditions forced the suspension of flights out of the city’s airport, one of the busiest in the world, as authorities worked to clear runways and reschedule hundreds of stranded planes.
Turkish Airlines stated its flights will not restart until at least midnight Tuesday, despite the fact that one runway was subsequently opened to handle flights that had been diverted due to the snowfall.
On Twitter, Yahya Ustun, the airline’s spokesperson, said, “Relevant authorities continue to strive to make our airports and transportation networks ready for our flights.”
The airport, which is located north of Istanbul on the Black Sea coasts, opened to much fanfare in 2019. Turkey wanted to make it the world’s largest airport in the future, with a capacity of over 200 million people each year. Despite the fact that only one terminal has been open to now, it handled over 36 million passengers last year.
The airport was caught off guard by the snowstorm on Monday night, which swiftly overwhelmed runways and ground transportation, leaving passengers stuck inside flights, in buses designed to connect them to tarmac gates, and within the vast terminal building.
Thousands of passengers slept in the terminal overnight, and airport officials provided cardboard sheets and sandwiches to them on Tuesday.
In the snow, the roof of a big cargo terminal collapsed, and road access to the airport, which opened without any public transportation and relied solely on shuttle buses and taxis, was cut off on Monday night.
