Bad weather can strand vehicles in the city, and it can also suspend flights from the largest airport of the metropolis.
Istanbul, Turkey – Turkish authorities sent troops to clear roads and ordered military helicopters to transport the sick to hospitals. Istanbul was the largest city in Turkey, and it was covered in heavy snow, which caused transportation to almost half.
After the overnight snowfall, a temporary ban on private and motorcycle vehicles was put into effect Tuesday morning. Schools and shopping centers were also closed as the public was advised to stay at home due to freezing weather.

Vehicles stuck in snow, in Beylikduzu district of Istanbul [Elif Öztürk Özgöncü/Anadolu]
Ekrem Imadoglu, Istanbul Mayor, stated that “the main issue is for our citizens to not go outside as often as possible in these stormy circumstances.” Imamoglu said that snow levels have reached as high as 80 cm (2.6 feet). In most parts of the city, the snow range is between 30 and 50 centimeters (1-1 1/2 feet).
Istanbul’s main roads were shut down overnight, including the northern highway that connects to the international airport and the E-5 highway that runs east-west through Istanbul. There are also routes to Ankara. Authorities claim that thousands of motorists were left on the roads due to snowfall rapidly picking up during rush hour when commuters returned home. Istanbul’s governor stated that 71 mosques were open to shelter those stranded on the roads.

Heavy snow has blanketed Turkey’s largest city since Monday night [Emrah Gurel/AP]
Adil Karaismailoglu (Minister of Transport and Infrastructure) said that the night was difficult and that people had been stuck on roads due to heavy snowfall and cold weather. He spoke at a press conference in Istanbul Tuesday afternoon. Karaismailoglu stated that drivers abandoned many cars and that work was underway to remove them.
Stranded passengers
After Monday’s bad weather, authorities attempted to clear runways to bring hundreds of stranded aircraft back on track.
Turkish Airlines stated that its flights would not resume on Tuesday, even though one runway was opened for flights diverted due to the snowfall.
“Relevant authorities continue working to make our airports, transportation routes ready for us flights,” Yahya Ustin, spokesperson for the airline, stated on Twitter.
The airport was inaugurated in 2019. It is located in Istanbul, on the shores of the Black Sea. Turkey wanted to make the airport the largest globally, able to carry more than 200 million passengers annually. It handled more than 36,000,000 passengers last year, despite only having one terminal.
However, Monday night’s snowfall caught the airport off guard. It quickly overwhelmed runways and ground transport. Passengers were left stranded in airplanes or buses connecting to the terminal building.

Authorities have tried to clear runways to get hundreds of stranded flights back on schedule [Yasin AKGUL/AFP]
Many thousands of passengers spent the night at the terminal. On Tuesday, the airport authorities distributed sandwiches and cardboard sheets to them.
A massive cargo terminal’s roof collapsed during the snowfall. On Monday night, the road to the airport was closed.