Perilous
Times
Angry Passengers riot at Moscow's iced up airport
Angry passengers revolted at Moscow's Domodedovo airport on Monday
as freezing rain and power cuts disrupted flights for a second
day.
12:04AM GMT 28 Dec 2010
A large group of passengers, many stranded for more than 24 hours,
stormed the passport control zone, demanding information on their
flights.
Despite upbeat statements by the Moscow power grid company and
airport officials, "electricity is still largely off, with baggage
conveyors and escalators remaining at a standstill," Interfax news
agency reported.
Some 200 flights were cancelled on Monday after freezing rain
snapped power lines and cut electricity to Domodedovo the day
before, while a lack of de-icing fluid kept planes from taking off
at Sheremetyevo, another big Moscow airport.
Sub-zero temperatures and snow are typical for Moscow's winter
months, but the weekend saw an unusually heavy downpour of rare
freezing rain that can form a thick layer of ice on power cables,
eventually breaking them under its weight.
Russian airport officials said it would take two more days before
air traffic is fully normalised.
Domodedovo, the largest of Moscow's three airports, served nearly
19 million passengers last year, while Sheremetyevo handled almost
15 million.