Blizzards and plunging temperatures have caused travel chaos in Greece and Turkey with hundreds of flights cancelled as rare snowstorms sweep across the region.
Snow flurries are not unusual across the mountains of northern Greece but it is much less frequent in capital city Athens and the Greek islands.
However, the winter blast, named Elpis by the Greek National Meteorological Service, is predicted to bring disruption for some days.
The UK Foreign Office has already warned of severe disruption to transport and public services due to “extreme weather” in parts of Greece. Some places on the Greek mainland have reported more than a foot of lying show and there have even been wintry showers in southern Aegean islands.
A blanket of heavy snow covered the Greek capital on Monday, from the Acropolis hill to the coast in the south, disrupting air traffic, bringing transport to a halt and leaving scores of drivers stranded overnight in a highway.
Data from aviation analyst Cirium confirms almost 1,000 flights have been axed because of the storms.
Some 943 flights were cancelled across Greece and Turkey on Sunday and Monday January as rare snowfall hit the countries – with further cancellations to come.
Athens Airport was forced to cancel 116 flights cancelled on Monday, while all flights to Mykonos were axed as snow hit the summer hotspot.
Istanbul Airport, in Turkey, saw the most cancellations with 416 services cancelled on Sunday and Monday due to snowfall.
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