Thousands of tourists have been stranded in northern Finland after flights at Kittilä Airport were canceled due to extremely low temperatures.
Temperatures at the airport dropped to -37°C on Sunday morning, following several days of similar Arctic weather, making it difficult to de-ice planes and carry out other airport operations.
British tourists stranded in the area are expected to return home on Monday afternoon, with flights planned to Manchester and London, though the UK Meteorological Office predicts temperatures will still be around -28°C at that time.
Kittilä is located in Finnish Lapland, a sparsely populated northern region.
Even though Finns are used to cold winters, this year’s extreme cold has been heavier than in previous years, affecting large areas of northern, central, and eastern Europe.
Heavy snowfall, strong winds, and icy roads have made travel across the continent extremely dangerous.
In Germany, train passengers faced major delays and cancellations on Sunday as heavy snowfall forced Deutsche Bahn to suspend all services in northern regions, according to Sky News. Authorities also announced that all schools in North Rhine-Westphalia, the country’s most populous western state, would remain closed on Monday due to low temperatures.
In the Baltic states, drivers in Estonia and Lithuania were urged to postpone all non-essential travel due to expected snowstorms, while Latvia issued a snow warning for its western region.
