About 500 passengers reportedly spent the night confined to planes after the snowstorm hit Munich

German airline Lufthansa and Munich Airport are facing sharp criticism after hundreds of passengers spent the night trapped in planes during a snowstorm, prompting questions about crisis management at one of Europe's most busy centres.

German media sharply criticised the treatment of the incident Monday.

The newspaper “Merkur” entitled its article “Makth at Munich Airport: Passengers trapped in planes all night”

The country's best-soldboard “Bild” challenged the official's description of this experience as a “

About 500 passengers were affected in all, according to media reports.

The crisis began on Thursday evening when heavy snowfall led to cancellations, blocking travellers on five Lufthansa Group flights with the destination of Singapore, Copenhagen, Gdanscu, Graz and Venice.

aviation expert and pilot Mirko Miesen sharply criticised the response.

“At this point, I really wonder why people are treated with such ignorance, knowing that they are sitting there in a closed space, perhaps even with children, perhaps with older ones, in a space locked in a passenger plane”, he told N-tv news channel.

Lufthansa said in a statement that the planes should stay in a remote parking area in line with airport regulations.

The terminal gates were not available, and airport buses were in short supply, delaying passenger landing.

“Equipasets constantly briefed guests and offered them the best possible care with drink and food available on board”, the airline said.

A Munich Airport spokesman attributed the chaos to highly tense terms “of the weather during the night from Thursday to Friday, which caused widespread delays and annulments. / AA/