UPDATE: How transport in Denmark is affected by storms and flooding this weekend
Storm strength winds, storm surges and high water levels are forecast in Denmark, with the conditions peaking on Friday and Saturday. Here’s how flights, ferries, roads, trains and buses are affected.
Transport across Denmark is disrupted by the bad weather on Friday, with conditions expected to continue to affect traffic until Saturday.
National meteorological agency DMI has warned of critically high water levels from Friday morning until around noon on Saturday along southern sections of the East Jutland coast, off southern Funen, the south coast of Lolland and Falster and southeastern Zealand. The agency on Thursday morning increased its storm surge warning with shores around the Little Belt strait and the fjords of Flensburg, Aabenraa and Haderslev in South Jutland at between 1.9 and 2.4 metres above normal water levels.
The forecasts warn of water levels so high that summer house areas, harbours and other locations could be flooded and police advised residents to leave the affected areas by Friday.
Weather conditions are also affecting other parts of Denmark with disruptions to transport services in major cities Copenhagen and Aarhus.
Road authorities, airports and transport operators across the country have issued updates on Friday morning.
READ ALSO:
- Danish forecaster warns of 'dangerous' two-metre storm surge
- What can homeowners in Denmark do to protect houses from high water damage?
Roads and bridges
The Danish Roads Directorate advises motorists to keep up to date about potential disruptions on its live Traffic Information page.
Currently, the page shows an advisory against crossing the Øresund Bridge and the Svendborg Bridge in wind-sensitive vehicles. Similarly, wind-sensitive vehicles were on Thursday afternoon advised against using the Vejlefjord Bridge in southeastern Jutland, although that warning is not in place at the time of writing.
The wind levels on the bridges are expected to fall on Saturday morning, according to the directorate.
Both the Øresund Bridge and the Great Belt Bridge close if the average wind speed reaches 25 meters per second.
The greatest risk of this occurring according to DMI’s forecasts is at the Great Belt strait between 9pm on Friday and 4am on Saturday. As such, there is a risk the Great Belt Bridge may be closed during this period.
The Roads Directorate is also advising general caution given the conditions. Potential hazards include branches or other objects on roads and local road closures due to flooding.
Airports
Copenhagen Airport said in a post on X (Twitter) on Thursday evening that it expects “a lot” of delays and cancellations on Friday and possibly also Saturday.
“The status is that 71 out of 750 planned arrivals and departures have been cancelled,” the airport stated.
“Passengers affected by cancellations should contact their airline,” it said.
Flight status can be checked via the airline or on the CPH Airport website. Passengers are advised to arrive for their flights at the normal times: three hours before departure if travelling outside Europe and two hours for travel within Europe.
The departures board at Billund Airport is showing minimal disruption at the current time with no major delays and a single service, a 5:20pm flight to Brussels, cancelled. It is unclear whether the individual cancellation is weather related.
Three departures from Aarhus Airport have been cancelled, head of communications Tina Baungaard–Jensen has informed news wire Ritzau. Affected flights are to Stockholm, Oslo and Copenhagen.
Rail
Cancellations and delays are possible all over Denmark from Friday afternoon as a result of the weather conditions, national operator DSB said on its website.
Affected services on Friday include Næstved-Nykøbing F, Copenhagen-Næstved via Køge, Copenhagen-Næstved via Roskilde, Aarhus-Aalborg, Aarhus-Fredericia.
Changes to planned services can included reduced frequency and slower trains.
It’s worth noting that DSB’s travel time guarantee applies if you are delayed by more than 30 minutes overall on your journey.
Orange discount tickets valid on October 20th may be used on the 19th or 21st if you face delays due to the expected disruptions, DSB says.
Copenhagen’s S-trains are running at reduced speed as of Friday.
READ ALSO: How to claim compensation if your rail journey in Denmark is delayed
Buses
There are disruptions to bus services across the country, with regional operators sending out updates and information relating to cancellations.
Copenhagen’s harbour buses are partially cancelled as of Friday, with only the Orientkay-Nyhavn part of the route open. Operator Movia says on its website that local bus and rail services could be disrupted by the weather.
Southern Jutland operator Sydtrafik states that services and individual bus stops in Vejle, Kolding, Haderslev, Aabenraa and Sønderborg municipalities may all be affected.
Only two services are affected at the time of writing, however. These are services 268 and 269, which originate in Haderslev.
On Funen, where storm surges are expected to be particularly severe in the Assens and Faaborg areas, several changes have so far been announced by the regional bus company Fynbus. These affect routes 110/130-132/151-152 in Assens and 110-111, 141, 920-921 and 930-932 in Faaborg.
The Midttrafik operater states that the Aarhus Light Rail will have significant delays from this afternoon, and that these are not covered by the passenger compensation guarantee.
Ferries
Ferries all across Denmark, servicing main routes and small islands as well as international departures to Norway, Germany and Sweden and the ferry from Ystad in Sweden to Bornholm, are affected by the conditions as of Thursday afternoon.
An overview of the disruption collated by national broadcaster DR shows expected changes on the following ferries.
Routes not mentioned below have not announced changes or cancellations at the time of writing, but some are subject to decisions being made on Friday or Saturday – so it’s best to check ahead with the operator if you have a journey planned.
- Frederikshavn – Læsø Cancellations will be announced one hour before scheduled departure, some cancellations expected on Friday.
- Hou – Sælvig (Samsø) Thursday's departures at 3:45pm from Sælvig and 5pm from Hou cancelled. All departures cancelled on Friday. Announcement pending on Saturday services.
- Aarhus – Sælvig (Samsø) Services suspended on Thursday and Friday. Announcement pending on Saturday services.
- Esbjerg – Fanø Departures may be cancelled on Friday and Saturday due to low water levels on west coast.
- Fynshav (Als) – Bøjden (Fyn) All departures on Thursday and Friday cancelled, Saturday morning departures cancelled.
- Fynshav (Als) – Søby (Ærø) All departures on Thursday and Friday cancelled, services may resume on Saturday at 3pm.
- Faaborg – Søby (Ærø) All departures from Thursday to Saturday cancelled.
- Svendborg – Ærøskøbing All departures on Friday cancelled. Last departures are on Thursday at 6:35pm from Ærøskøbing and 8:05pm from Svendborg. Services expected to resume on Saturday at 3pm.
- Marstal – Rudkøbing All departures on Friday cancelled, services expected to resume on Saturday.
- Ystad – Rønne (Bornholm) Express 5 service early departure on Friday may be delayed, all other express services on Friday replaced by reserve ferry.
- Frederikshavn – Oslo (Norway) All departures between Frederikshavn and Oslo cancelled on Thursday and Friday. Operator DFDS has said passengers with reservations will be contacted.
- Grenaa – Halmstad (Sweden) Operator Stena Line has cancelled Friday’s departures at 6:10am from Halmstad, 1:25pm from Grenaa and 7pm from Halmstad. Sunday’s 2:10pm departure from Grenaa is also cancelled because the ferry will be on the wrong side of the Kattegat.
- Hirtshals – Kristiansand (Norway) Operator Fjord Line has cancelled the Hirtshals-Kristiansand service on Thursday at 5:30pm and Friday at 10am. Friday’s 3pm Kristianssand-Hirtshals service also cancelled.
- Gedser – Rostock (Germany) Two departures cancelled on Thursday evening from Gedser to Rostock and two departures on the return trip. All services cancelled Friday until Saturday morning at 3am from Gedser.
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Transport across Denmark is disrupted by the bad weather on Friday, with conditions expected to continue to affect traffic until Saturday.
National meteorological agency DMI has warned of critically high water levels from Friday morning until around noon on Saturday along southern sections of the East Jutland coast, off southern Funen, the south coast of Lolland and Falster and southeastern Zealand. The agency on Thursday morning increased its storm surge warning with shores around the Little Belt strait and the fjords of Flensburg, Aabenraa and Haderslev in South Jutland at between 1.9 and 2.4 metres above normal water levels.
The forecasts warn of water levels so high that summer house areas, harbours and other locations could be flooded and police advised residents to leave the affected areas by Friday.
Weather conditions are also affecting other parts of Denmark with disruptions to transport services in major cities Copenhagen and Aarhus.
Road authorities, airports and transport operators across the country have issued updates on Friday morning.
READ ALSO:
- Danish forecaster warns of 'dangerous' two-metre storm surge
- What can homeowners in Denmark do to protect houses from high water damage?
Roads and bridges
The Danish Roads Directorate advises motorists to keep up to date about potential disruptions on its live Traffic Information page.
Currently, the page shows an advisory against crossing the Øresund Bridge and the Svendborg Bridge in wind-sensitive vehicles. Similarly, wind-sensitive vehicles were on Thursday afternoon advised against using the Vejlefjord Bridge in southeastern Jutland, although that warning is not in place at the time of writing.
The wind levels on the bridges are expected to fall on Saturday morning, according to the directorate.
Both the Øresund Bridge and the Great Belt Bridge close if the average wind speed reaches 25 meters per second.
The greatest risk of this occurring according to DMI’s forecasts is at the Great Belt strait between 9pm on Friday and 4am on Saturday. As such, there is a risk the Great Belt Bridge may be closed during this period.
The Roads Directorate is also advising general caution given the conditions. Potential hazards include branches or other objects on roads and local road closures due to flooding.
Airports
Copenhagen Airport said in a post on X (Twitter) on Thursday evening that it expects “a lot” of delays and cancellations on Friday and possibly also Saturday.
“The status is that 71 out of 750 planned arrivals and departures have been cancelled,” the airport stated.
“Passengers affected by cancellations should contact their airline,” it said.
Flight status can be checked via the airline or on the CPH Airport website. Passengers are advised to arrive for their flights at the normal times: three hours before departure if travelling outside Europe and two hours for travel within Europe.
The departures board at Billund Airport is showing minimal disruption at the current time with no major delays and a single service, a 5:20pm flight to Brussels, cancelled. It is unclear whether the individual cancellation is weather related.
Three departures from Aarhus Airport have been cancelled, head of communications Tina Baungaard–Jensen has informed news wire Ritzau. Affected flights are to Stockholm, Oslo and Copenhagen.
Rail
Cancellations and delays are possible all over Denmark from Friday afternoon as a result of the weather conditions, national operator DSB said on its website.
Affected services on Friday include Næstved-Nykøbing F, Copenhagen-Næstved via Køge, Copenhagen-Næstved via Roskilde, Aarhus-Aalborg, Aarhus-Fredericia.
Changes to planned services can included reduced frequency and slower trains.
It’s worth noting that DSB’s travel time guarantee applies if you are delayed by more than 30 minutes overall on your journey.
Orange discount tickets valid on October 20th may be used on the 19th or 21st if you face delays due to the expected disruptions, DSB says.
Copenhagen’s S-trains are running at reduced speed as of Friday.
READ ALSO: How to claim compensation if your rail journey in Denmark is delayed
Buses
There are disruptions to bus services across the country, with regional operators sending out updates and information relating to cancellations.
Copenhagen’s harbour buses are partially cancelled as of Friday, with only the Orientkay-Nyhavn part of the route open. Operator Movia says on its website that local bus and rail services could be disrupted by the weather.
Southern Jutland operator Sydtrafik states that services and individual bus stops in Vejle, Kolding, Haderslev, Aabenraa and Sønderborg municipalities may all be affected.
Only two services are affected at the time of writing, however. These are services 268 and 269, which originate in Haderslev.
On Funen, where storm surges are expected to be particularly severe in the Assens and Faaborg areas, several changes have so far been announced by the regional bus company Fynbus. These affect routes 110/130-132/151-152 in Assens and 110-111, 141, 920-921 and 930-932 in Faaborg.
The Midttrafik operater states that the Aarhus Light Rail will have significant delays from this afternoon, and that these are not covered by the passenger compensation guarantee.
Ferries
Ferries all across Denmark, servicing main routes and small islands as well as international departures to Norway, Germany and Sweden and the ferry from Ystad in Sweden to Bornholm, are affected by the conditions as of Thursday afternoon.
An overview of the disruption collated by national broadcaster DR shows expected changes on the following ferries.
Routes not mentioned below have not announced changes or cancellations at the time of writing, but some are subject to decisions being made on Friday or Saturday – so it’s best to check ahead with the operator if you have a journey planned.
- Frederikshavn – Læsø Cancellations will be announced one hour before scheduled departure, some cancellations expected on Friday.
- Hou – Sælvig (Samsø) Thursday's departures at 3:45pm from Sælvig and 5pm from Hou cancelled. All departures cancelled on Friday. Announcement pending on Saturday services.
- Aarhus – Sælvig (Samsø) Services suspended on Thursday and Friday. Announcement pending on Saturday services.
- Esbjerg – Fanø Departures may be cancelled on Friday and Saturday due to low water levels on west coast.
- Fynshav (Als) – Bøjden (Fyn) All departures on Thursday and Friday cancelled, Saturday morning departures cancelled.
- Fynshav (Als) – Søby (Ærø) All departures on Thursday and Friday cancelled, services may resume on Saturday at 3pm.
- Faaborg – Søby (Ærø) All departures from Thursday to Saturday cancelled.
- Svendborg – Ærøskøbing All departures on Friday cancelled. Last departures are on Thursday at 6:35pm from Ærøskøbing and 8:05pm from Svendborg. Services expected to resume on Saturday at 3pm.
- Marstal – Rudkøbing All departures on Friday cancelled, services expected to resume on Saturday.
- Ystad – Rønne (Bornholm) Express 5 service early departure on Friday may be delayed, all other express services on Friday replaced by reserve ferry.
- Frederikshavn – Oslo (Norway) All departures between Frederikshavn and Oslo cancelled on Thursday and Friday. Operator DFDS has said passengers with reservations will be contacted.
- Grenaa – Halmstad (Sweden) Operator Stena Line has cancelled Friday’s departures at 6:10am from Halmstad, 1:25pm from Grenaa and 7pm from Halmstad. Sunday’s 2:10pm departure from Grenaa is also cancelled because the ferry will be on the wrong side of the Kattegat.
- Hirtshals – Kristiansand (Norway) Operator Fjord Line has cancelled the Hirtshals-Kristiansand service on Thursday at 5:30pm and Friday at 10am. Friday’s 3pm Kristianssand-Hirtshals service also cancelled.
- Gedser – Rostock (Germany) Two departures cancelled on Thursday evening from Gedser to Rostock and two departures on the return trip. All services cancelled Friday until Saturday morning at 3am from Gedser.
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