Takeoffs resumed at 4:40 pm (1540 GMT) on one of the airport's four runways while shortly after landings resumed on another runway, a spokesman for the authority said.

Heavy snowfall and poor visibility led officials to close all four runways at Barajas, Europe's fourth busiest in terms of passenger traffic, at around midday, disrupting travel for thousands of passengers.

During the period that the airport was closed 52 flights were diverted to other Spanish cities.

A total 1,205 flights had been scheduled to take off and land at the airport on Friday. When the airport closed down, 268 planes had already landed and taken off from Barajas.

The unexpected snowfall led to long traffic jams and road accidents, reduced speeds on trains across the country and led to the closure of the Spanish capital's zoo, officials said.

Real Madrid football club called off a training session because several players, employees and football journalists could not get to the Valdebebas training ground northwest of the city as many roads were closed.