Passengers spend 27 hours waiting as snow chaos grips Polish airport

A flight from Warsaw Modlin Airport to the United Arab Emirates was delayed by 27 hours after heavy snowfall disrupted operations at the airport.

Passengers gathered at Modlin Airport, near Warsaw in central Poland, after flights were temporarily halted over the New Year break due to heavy snowfall and severe weather. Photo: PAP/Bartłomiej Pawlak

Passengers on Air Arabia flight G9608, an Airbus A320 scheduled to depart for Sharjah late on 31 December 2025, were unable to leave Poland before the end of the year as planned.

Instead, the aircraft eventually took off more than a day later, after prolonged winter conditions left the airport’s runway and apron covered in snow.

National broadcaster Polish Radio reported that the flight, which had been due to be the final departure from Modlin Airport in 2025, was delayed by intense snowfall that swept across large parts of the country in the final days of December.

Severe winter weather causes 27-hour delay for UAE-bound flight from Poland

Flight-tracking service Flightradar24 explained that the flight’s callsign was temporarily amended to include the letter “D”, a designation commonly used for services suffering exceptionally long delays.

Passengers saw the revised flight code on New Year’s Eve and again on New Year’s Day before departure was finally confirmed.

Severe winter weather caused widespread disruption at Modlin Airport, located about 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of Warsaw.

Earlier in the week, airport operations were suspended entirely due to blizzards and strong winds, forcing inbound aircraft to divert to the city of Łódź, where conditions were more favourable.

Some travellers were less fortunate than those on the delayed Sharjah flight, with several departures cancelled outright because of the weather.

Photo: PAP/Bartłomiej Pawlak

Snow disruption triggers 27-hour delay at Warsaw Modlin Airport

Passengers voiced frustration online, criticising a lack of information and what they described as inadequate handling of the situation.

Warsaw Modlin Airport said on social media that the delays were caused by earlier disruptions to morning flights, creating a knock-on effect throughout the day.

„Airlines, as part of their fleet planning, took steps to limit inconvenience for travellers, including increasing aircraft rotation,” the operator said in a statement.  

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Source: PR24/Polish Radio English Service/X/@flightradar24/Warsaw Modlin Airport

Radio Poland