Arlanda airport is well-prepared for winter weather. However, that is not true for other airports, and nothing gives you the idea of global interconnectedness like air travel. When other airports are crippled by snow and not letting planes land, the flights can’t take off from Arlanda. When planes can’t get out of other airports, the planes don’t arrive to pick up new passengers and go on to a new location. Even when things are moving, there are delays while the runway gets cleared, the bags get loaded, and the planes get de-iced (and re-de-iced).
Of course, all the delays and cancellations and last-minute gate changes and poor visibility and bad traction make work harder for the baggage handlers. Bad weather canceled a lot of trains and buses, so not everyone came into work and the extra workload got to be shared between fewer people. It is tricky to measure at a worksite that is working at full capacity since the measurement itself takes a bit of worker time, but on the other hand it is great to be able to capture some ‘worst-case’ scenarios. So far everyone has been really accommodating and generous with the time. Only 1.5 weeks left!