BERLIN—Passengers using Frankfurt Airport on Sunday, July 7, should brace for possible delays as some routes will be altered while engineers dispose of a World War Two bomb, operating company Fraport said on Friday.
It advised travelers to consult their airlines and check the airport’s website and app well before planned departures and arrivals for information about flight delays.
Fraport said the extent of the disruption would also depend on the weather, which determines how much flexibility it has to divert flights.
The disruption is expected to begin at 10:00 a.m. (local time) and will also affect public transport.
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Due to the disposal of a WWII bomb in Frankfurt, flight routes for approaching and departing aircraft at Frankfurt Airport will be altered on Sunday (July 7) – possibly resulting in delays and flight disruptions. More information: https://t.co/JdE4VMzKS8 pic.twitter.com/56mWAx0T4p— Frankfurt Airport (@Airport_FRA) July 5, 2019
About 16,500 people living within a kilometer’s radius of the site of the bomb, near the European Central Bank tower in the east of the city, will be evacuated while engineers defuse the 500-kg bomb, police said.
Frankfurt Airport, which handles some 68 million passengers each year, lies about 14km (8,7 miles) east of the bomb site.
The bomb was discovered at a construction site, a common occurrence in German cities that were subjected to sustained aerial attacks by the allies fighting Hitler’s Nazi dictatorship.
A WW2 bomb in Frankfurt’s Ostend is to be defused on Sunday. It’s necessary to leave the complete marked area (???? https://t.co/bRnyAx1Dwg) until 8 AM on July 7. All information summed up here ???? https://t.co/EF3bvsOI2p. Please follow @feuerwehrffm & @Polizei_Ffm for latest news! pic.twitter.com/4N5LHGnGsC
— Frankfurt am Main (@Stadt_FFM) July 4, 2019
Hundreds Evacuated in Frankfurt
Some 600 people had been evacuated from their homes in the old city of Frankfurt in April, so specialists could remove a World War II-era bomb that was discovered in the Main River.
The German news agency DPA reported the bomb was defused, as planned, underwater on April 14, which led to a loud detonation and a big water fountain on the river. Police told DPA “the bomb is no longer a danger.”
Watch:
During the underwater defusing, a more than 30-meters high fountain was rising and visible from afar. “This huge explosion and water fountain were really impressive and huge, that worked really well.” said Claudia Klerks, who happened to be there with her husband.
Firefighters had discovered the American 550-pound bomb during diving training in the river on Tuesday.
Even more than 70 years after the end of the war, bombs and other munitions still turn up regularly in Germany, a testament to the ferocity of the fighting in World War II.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
