ZURICH (Reuters) - The airport in the Swiss city of Geneva closed for several hours on Thursday due to bitterly cold weather that has hit many parts of Europe this week with snow and icy winds, causing travel chaos.

The airport reopened at 1000 GMT for departures and will accept arrivals from 1200 GMT, the airport said in a statement on its mobile app, which showed more than 40 flights from Geneva had been canceled, as well as dozens arrivals.

A Siberian weather system forecasters have called the “beast from the east” brought snow, strong winds and the coldest temperatures for years to many regions across Europe.

Geneva’s temperatures are set to rise later on Thursday, but the freeze is expected to continue elsewhere.

Geneva airport recommended passengers check with their airlines on whether upcoming flights would be scheduled for departure.