Photo: Courtesy of Hwal Mehodar Bucharest, the capital of Romania, woke up to a 2 AM (GMT) severe weather emergency alert warning (ROALERT) informing citizens of a raging snowstorm this morning (February 18, 2026). The storm completely paralyzed the city's airports, including Otopeni.
The situation is also complicated at Henri Coandă International Airport, where snow has settled on the runways, and airport authorities have deployed snow-removal vehicles.
Dozens of flights to and from Bucharest have been canceled so far, and, due to the severe weather conditions, it is not yet clear when its operations will resume.
Representatives of the Bucharest National Airports Company (CNAB) reported that air traffic "is taking place in conditions of heavy snowfall and strong blizzards, in gusts that carry snow to the ground, making airport activities difficult."
Although "they are constantly intervening with their 58 own aircraft," several airlines have decided not to risk landings or takeoffs in these conditions. LOT flights 643/644 on the Warsaw-Bucharest-Warsaw route were canceled. The national operator also canceled flights RO 210 Chisinau-Bucharest and 810 Suceava-Bucharest.
Strong winds also made it impossible for three aircraft to land and pilots were forced to divert flights to airports in neighboring countries or the province. Thus, Ryanair flight 5262 Dublin-Bucharest arrived in Varna, WizzAir 3290 Porto-Bucharest was sent to Sofia, and Hisky flight 236 Tel Aviv-Bucharest was forced to land in Cluj-Napoca.
Airport officials also warn that "flights may experience delays due to the need to de-ice aircraft", an operation that is performed only after passengers board the plane.