Dozens of flights cancelled across Germany as extreme winter weather brings widespread disruption

Heavy snow and freezing rain brought widespread disruption across Europe on Sunday, particularly in Germany, where the extreme winter weather caused major delays and disruption to transport.

Frankfurt Airport cancelled 120 of its 1,090 planned takeoffs and landings on Sunday due to clearance work on runways and reduced visibility limiting the airport's flight capacity, a spokesperson for the airport operator, Fraport, said.

There were restrictions on flight operations at Munich Airport as well, where only one runway was open while the other was being cleared.

According to a Munich Airport spokesperson, 35 take-offs and landings had already been cancelled on Saturday as a precautionary measure, while around 750 were postponed to Sunday. At Stuttgart airport, officials said de-icing machines were also taking longer, given the weather conditions.

Meanwhile, up to 10 centimetres of fresh snow fell in Cologne during the night and early morning, local officials said.

As the snowy weather conditions in some parts of Germany turned icy, an increase in accident reports was reported.

Authorities say that a large proportion of the weather-related accidents were due to people driving on snow-covered roads with summer tyres.

The country's weather service issued black ice warnings for drivers and pedestrians, advising people to stay home where possible.

The extreme winter weather also brought widespread disruption across the UK on Sunday, leaving many key roads in the north of England and Wales unnavigable.

Several major airports were forced to suspend their flights, while some sporting events were postponed, officials said

The UK's Met Office has issued eight weather warnings, while in neighbouring Ireland, authorities issued two weather alerts for affected areas in the country following overnight snowfalls.

According to local media, up to 30,000 homes and businesses suffered power outages in Ireland as a result of the adverse weather conditions.