Weather is the single biggest disruptor in the aviation industry with disruption lasting on average between 3-12hrs. Today Rhodes Airport, in Greece, has experienced a string of delays due to high crosswinds bashing the Greek Island.
What’s happening?
According to the latest METAR weather report for the airport, Rhodes is currently experiencing crosswinds of 20knots, gusting up-to 32knots – approximately 37mph.
In contrast, the two most popular aircraft at the airport, the Boeing 737-800 and Airbus A320 have a maximum permissible crosswind component of 33knots and 38knots respectively. Towards these limits, it is normally only the Captain that is permitted to make the landing.
Updates to the METAR report show that these winds are improving however, with the latest reading being 27knots.
The Disruption Caused
Both aircraft arriving and departing Rhodes (RHO) have been forced to either cancel or divert to alternative airports including Athens, Heraklion and Kos with the earliest cancellation being flight A3202 from Athens at 9:05am local time. The diversions and cancellations continue as of the time of publishing – 23:00pm local time.
So far as many as 24 arrivals have been either cancelled or diverted, and 14 departures either cancelled or still estimated at the time of publishing.
We continue to keep an eye on FlightRadar, and will bring further updates as we receive them. Has your flight been affected? Let us know in the comments below!
Hello
I read your interesting article.
can I find earlier flights canceled or diverted on April 17 starting from 9:00am
Thank you