MOSCOW: Pulkovo airport in Russia’s St Petersburg has resumed operations after being closed for several hours on Sunday due to heavy snowfall, the national aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia said.
At around 0830 local time (0530 GMT) the airport announced it was halting all flights and planned to resume operations shortly. However, this has been postponed until weather conditions improve.
Artyom Korenyako, a spokesman for Rosaviatsia, wrote in his Telegram account that as of 1325 local time Pulkovo was reopened for inbound and outbound flights.
Korenyako said that during the runway closure, 33 planes bound for St Petersburg had been redirected to alternate airports, primarily in Moscow.
Earlier, Mash Telegram channel posted a video showing what it said was a plane waiting for departure from St. Petersburg, with passengers seated in the cabin and the outer panes of the windows heavily iced. It was unclear how long people had been waiting inside the aircraft.
