Europe's busiest airport shut as rare snow wraps Mediterranean region - see pics and videos

Operations at Europe's busiest airport - Istanbul Airport - were brought to a standstill on Monday (January 24) due to heavy snowfall, local media reported and also videos/photos circulated on social media forums showed. 

Heavy snowfall has hit parts of Turkey and Greece, disrupting flights and causing travel chaos. 

Footage obtained by Turkish politician Baris Yarkadas showed stranded aircraft on tarmac and airport crews pushing a passenger bus stuck in the snow.

Turkish Airlines on Monday (January 24) said it had cancelled all flights from Istanbul Airport as the airport closed operations.

Istanbul Airport authority, in a tweet, said that the teams are carrying out cleaning works on the apron, runway and taxiway to restart flight operations. Work continues at full speed against adverse weather conditions and heavy snowfall. 

Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Authority (AFAD) said that more than 4,600 people were stranded across the country. They also said that emergency teams delivered food and drinks to those stranded.

As per a report by Hurriyet Daily, the snowfall began late last week and picked up in recent days in the city of 16 million people. 

Footage from the airport, among the world's largest, showed runways covered in a thick blanket of snow with aircraft and vehicles barely visible.

Istanbul Governor Ali Yerlikaya took the rare step of banning private cars until 1000 GMT (1pm local) as emergency teams cleaned up streets, while many public workers were granted administrative leave to keep commutes to a minimum.

Across the country, some 4,600 people were left stranded on roads and elsewhere, and thousands had been placed in temporary housing, the Disaster and Emergency Authority said.