Dense fog disrupts maritime, air traffic in Istanbul
Heavy fog blankets Istanbul's Bosporus. (Shutterstock Photo)


Maritime traffic on the Bosporus, which was halted due to fog and poor visibility, has resumed on both directions. Traffic is back on schedules after weather conditions improved.

Istanbul's Bosporus, which connects the Marmara and the Black Sea, was closed to maritime traffic owing to dense fog early Tuesday, with ferry services being temporarily canceled.

In an announcement on the City Lines' website, it was stated that maritime traffic may be subject to cancelations and delays due to fog. Updates on the revised schedule will be available on the website.

Air traffic

Snowfall in Istanbul has caused disruption in air traffic, delaying takeoffs and scheduled flights. An Istanbul-Bremen Turkish Airlines (THY) flight was delayed for five hours, with passengers waiting on board. Turkish Airlines flight TK 1332, for the Istanbul-Bremen route, was supposed to take off at 4 p.m. local time but took off at 8:50 p.m. Meanwhile, passengers waited inside the aircraft and shared footage on their social media accounts of what they were experiencing on board.

Turkish Airlines flights were also delayed in the evening. The planes that were queued up for de-icing before takeoff had to wait for longer than expected.

The cold weather caused planes to line up for anti-icing and de-icing. Meanwhile, due to the malfunction of one of the de-icing devices, the planes had to wait for longer with their engines running, with some experiencing fuel issues.

Duty hours of the cabin crew, expecting to return home, were also affected. Passengers of the delayed flights vented their anger and tried to alert authorities on social media.