ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A snowstorm grounded aircraft at Istanbul's main airport on Wednesday and forced the closure of the Bosphorus Strait, a key shipping channel for Russian grains and oil, Turkish officials said.
The storm, which snarled traffic in the city of some 15 million people and caused some commuters to walk to work, also left members of the Besiktas football team stranded at the airport. The Istanbul side is scheduled to play Liverpool in Britain on Thursday.
All flights had been suspended at Ataturk Airport and it was unclear when they would resume, an airports agency official said. Turkish Airlines, Europe's fourth-biggest carrier, said it cancelled 200 flights scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.
Discount carrier Pegasus also called off some flights at its hub on the Asian side of Istanbul.
The Bosphorus Strait, which divides Istanbul into Asian and European districts, was shut in both directions at 8:10 am (0610 GMT).
At least 13 ships were waiting to enter the strait at both ends and were now scheduled to make the voyage on Thursday, shipping agent GAC said. The Dardanelles at the opposite end of the Sea of Marmara remained opened, it said.
Maritime authorities are forced to occasionally shut the Bosphorus, the only navigable waterway for Russian commodities, due to reduced visibility in winter months, raising cargo costs.
An estimated 10,000 tankers carry some 150 million tonnes of petroleum products through the narrow, winding strait each year.
Icy roads had led to more than 800 traffic accidents since late on Tuesday, the mayor's office said.
(Reporting by Ayla Jean Yackley and Ece Toksabay; Editing by David Dolan and Dominic Evans)
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