Oslo airport has stopped all flights from landing and departing amid heavy snowfall and extreme weather around the Norwegian capital, the east of the country and parts of Sweden. The airport operator Avinor said it had taken the extremely rare step to suspend flights at about 12.35pm local time on Wednesday for safety reasons after large volumes of snow and strong wind meant the lights on the runway were not visible. Cathrine Framholt, Avinor’s communications manager, said she expected flights to resume at 2.30pm but the situation may be reassessed before then. “I don’t know when this last happened but it is unusual. The weather is extreme,” she added. An unnamed Avinor spokesperson told Reuters: “This is extremely rare … There is so much snow that the pilots cannot see the lights on the ground.” Although flights were suspended, the airport remained open to passengers. Avinor’s website, however, was also experiencing problems. Greater Oslo woke up to heavy snow on Wednesday, causing widespread disruption on public transport. Train traffic in eastern Norway was suspended until further notice, there were significant delays on the Oslo subway and bus services in the city had also been cancelled. In Sweden, authorities warned of “nasty surprises” on the roads as a snowstorm and gale-force winds caused traffic chaos in western areas and Skåne in the south, with the storm expected to then move east. Police and emergency services advised people not to travel, while the Swedish Transport Administration told motorists to think twice before venturing out. The Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute issued nine snow warnings, with snow and wind expected to hit Stockholm and Uppland harder before moving on to Norrland, where 30cm of snow was likely to fall on Wednesday evening. Conditions in Sweden were expected to calm by Thursday, with extreme cold and temperatures of -20C likely to sweep at the weekend.