Storms on Crete force diversions of at least 13 flights to Heraklion

Severe thunderstorms, strong winds and poor visibility kept aircraft from landing at Heraklion airport on Crete on Friday evening. Only six flights landed between 18:30 and 20:30 local time, while 13 were sent to other airports, according to Flightradar24 data cited in the report.

Six of the diverted flights had departed from Germany. A Condor service from Frankfurt (DE1670) diverted to Athens, as did an Enter Air flight from Karlsruhe (ENT3JD) and a Marabu flight from Hamburg (DU6834). A Tuifly flight from Düsseldorf (X34968) went to Chania, a Condor flight from Frankfurt (DE1662) to Rhodes, and a Corendon flight from Cologne/Bonn (XR413) to Bodrum.

Germany's foreign ministry issued a travel and safety notice on Friday. It warned that Crete was affected by heavy storms with torrential rain, thunderstorms and gusty winds, and said several regions were dealing with flooding, landslides, and damage and closures on roads.

The diversions came roughly two hours into the evening peak. Weather was the only stated cause. No information was provided on how many passengers were affected or on when the flights continued to Crete.

The airport reopened to arrivals later in the evening. Conditions overnight are not detailed in the source. Heraklion is among Greece's busiest airports in the summer season, handling a large share of charter traffic from Germany.