Northern Finland freezes, all flights cancelled, tourists stranded

Mohan Sinha
14 Jan 2026, 19:20 GMT+10

The severe cold forced cancelations of flights at Kittilä airport, leaving thousands of tourists in northern Finland stranded over the weekend
Finland’s national public broadcaster Yle reported that on the morning of January 11, the temperature at the airport dropped to minus 37 degrees Celsius (minus 34.6 degrees Fahrenheit), making de-icing of aircraft and other operations difficult
The deep freeze will continue in Kittilä, in Finnish Lapland, in the sparsely populated north, with temperatures expected to reach almost minus 40 C (minus 40 F)

HELSINKI, Finland: The severe cold forced cancelations of flights at Kittilä airport, leaving thousands of tourists in northern Finland stranded over the weekend.

Finland's national public broadcaster Yle reported that on the morning of January 11, the temperature at the airport dropped to minus 37 degrees Celsius (minus 34.6 degrees Fahrenheit), making de-icing of aircraft and other operations difficult.

The deep freeze will continue in Kittilä, in Finnish Lapland, in the sparsely populated north, with temperatures expected to reach almost minus 40 C (minus 40 F).

Finns are used to cold winters, but this year's cold wave is harsher than usual and has hit large parts of northern, central, and eastern Europe. Heavy snow, strong winds, and icy roads have made travel difficult in many areas.

In Germany, train passengers were still facing long delays and cancellations on January 11 after Deutsche Bahn halted all rail service in the north on Friday due to heavy snow.

Authorities said all schools in North Rhine-Westphalia, the country's most populated western state, will stay closed and move to online classes due to forecasts of icy roads.

In the Baltic states, drivers in Estonia and Lithuania were urged to delay nonessential travel because of expected blizzards, while Latvia issued a snow warning for the western part of the country.