(Bloomberg) -- Frankfurt Airport’s operator canceled more than half of flights scheduled for Wednesday as central and southern Germany braced for heavy snowfall and black ice. 

Fraport AG preemptively canceled 574 of 1074 planned takeoffs and landings, a spokeswoman said. The country’s national weather service warned of “extreme freezing rain danger” in the southwest and authorities advised drivers not to venture out. Rail operator Deutsche Bahn AG said snow and ice could cause delays and train cancellations and limited the maximum speed of its high-speed ICE trains to 200 kilometers per hour (124 miles an hour).

The fresh transport woes come just a week after a three-day nationwide rail strike coincided with a wave of protests by farmers, who blocked roads and highways across the country to vent their anger over the government cutting subsidies.

Deutsche Lufthansa AG said it’s “significantly reduced” overall capacity in the next two days, affecting both short and long-haul flights.

The airline urged passengers to check their schedules and to not travel to the airport should they be affected by cancellations. The carrier said it’s aiming to stabilize operations once the weather improves, which is expected for Friday. 

The arctic weather sweeping across Northern Europe is expected to give way to unseasonably warm weather next week. 

--With assistance from Eamon Akil Farhat and Kate Duffy.

(Updates with comment from Lufthansa)

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.