Geneva airport is back in operation after heavy snow rendered its runways inaccessible on Thursday morning.

Departures resumed at 11am, and arrivals at 1pm, reported the airport authorities. However, the airport cautioned that passengers should continue to expect delays.

​​​​​​​Zurich airport, in contrast, remained open and the first flights of the day were able to depart with only a few delays.

Road and rail delays

The snowfall overnight slowed traffic on motorways and other roads across the country. Several accidents were reported on the motorways connecting the capital, Bern, and Thun, and between Zurich and St Gallen in the northeast.

Public transport has also been hindered. For example, 12 bus and several tram lines in Zurich were disrupted. Train service also slowed down, especially in canton Vaud.

In Bern, many swissinfo.ch journalists faced long waits for trams and buses.

Switzerland has been experiencing unusually cold temperatures this week.

+ Read more about the ‘Beast from the East’ 

Yet the heavy snow on Thursday caught most people off guard, including the meteorologists at Swiss public television, SRF.

“Yes, dear followers. We’re also surprised about all the snow. The warm front is much more active than expected. We wish you a lot of patience on the roads,” they said in the following tweet.

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