WATCH: Flooding at Germany's Frankfurt airport disrupts flights, air traffic suspended

As a result of heavy rainfall in Frankfurt, Germany's largest airport experienced numerous flight cancellations on Wednesday. As evening progressed, significant quantities of water pooled on sections of runway, resulting in passengers being stranded onboard landed aircraft without ability to deplane.

As per information provided on Frankfurt Airport website, approximately 70 flights were called off due to verse wear conditions. An airport spokesperson confirmed to Deutsche Welle (DW) that ground handling operations were halted for a duration exceeding two hours.

A viral video shared on social media depicted planes stationed in table standing water at airport, with lightning illuminating background.

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Regarding flight operations, Frankfurt Airport typically concludes take-offs and landings at 11 pm local time (2100 UTC). However, in extraordinary situations like that of Wednesday, this curfew can be extended until midnight. This extension aims to alleviate impact of delays, cancellations, and potential congestion on subsequent day, reported DW.

As a result of night-time flight restriction and inundated conditions on airport grounds, more than 23 scheduled arrivals were rerouted in mid-flight, away from Frankfurt. According to preliminary assessments provided by Frankfurt Airport, disruption impacted well over a thousand passengers.

Severe wear warning in Germany

German Wear Service (DWD) h issued a comprehensive warning covering entirety of Hesse state, forecasting intense thunderstorms for Wednesday evening. combination of rain, powerful gusts of wind, and lightning that accompanied severe thunderstorms prompted numerous deployments of fire department in central German state of Hesse, where airport is situated.

Between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. local time, meteorological office recorded substantial amounts of rainfall, reaching up to 60 liters per square meter in certain regions. Within a span of one hour, meteorologists registered over 25,000 instances of lightning strikes, as reported by local public brocaster Hessische Rundfunk.

Griesheim experienced gale-force winds clocking in at 81 kilometers per hour (60 mph), while Offenbach reached wind speeds of 71 kilometers per hour.