MSP Airport Suspends Flight Operations Amid Blizzard Warning

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport has suspended flights either taking off or landing for the time being.

The airport tweeted that no flights were taking off or landing at MSP Airport at about 2:15 p.m. They reported low visibility as the mitigating factor.

A spokesperson for the airport said by the time planes reached the end of the runway after being de-iced, they needed to be de-iced again.

The National Weather Service extended the state's blizzard warning to include the Twin Cities at about 12:30 p.m., in effect until 7 a.m. Sunday.

Earlier in the day, MSP said they hoped to reopen by 9 p.m., but as of 9:15, they were still working on clearing runways.

MSP spokesperson Patrick Hogan said a closure like this has not happened in his 18 years with the airport. As of 9:15, all four runways had been closed for more than seven hours. The previous record was set earlier this year when all four runways were closed for about two hours.

Additionally, Rochester International Airport reported that all flights in and out of the airport had been canceled for the rest of Saturday, and operations would not resume until 5 a.m. Sunday.

The National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning for many counties in southwest Minnesota and through the Minnesota River Valley, and later extended it to include the Twin Cities. Areas on the west fringes of the Twin Cities like Hutchinson and Glencoe could see blizzard conditions.

Temperatures will drop throughout Saturday, from the low 30s into the low 20s.

In:
• Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport
• Blizzard