Severe winter weather disrupts travel hubs across Northern Europe

Winter weather across Northern Europe has disrupted flights, trains and roads, with Amsterdam Airport Schiphol cancelling nearly 2,000 flights this week and warning travellers of further disruptions on Wednesday. Airport authorities and the flight-tracking website FlightAware said the cancellations included at least 700 on Monday, 500 on Tuesday and 600 on Wednesday.

Officials also said train service to and from Schiphol would be shut down until at least 6 p.m. on Tuesday. The Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute said wintry conditions were expected to continue from Tuesday evening into Wednesday, with snow coming in from the west, and warned, "It will be slippery in many places." Brussels Airport warned that de-icing of aircraft and runway and taxiway snow clearance during the snowfall would likely cause flight delays "during the entire day." Snow showers were expected through Wednesday morning in Brussels, Paris, Antwerp and other metropolitan areas.

In France, local authorities were preparing for more cold after unexpectedly strong snowfalls on Monday; French news media reported five people had died in road accidents around the country. France’s national weather service placed about a third of the country on high alert and the interior ministry activated an emergency meeting.

Officials said school transportation would not run on Wednesday in several regions, including areas around Paris, where the regional speed limit was reduced to 70 kilometres per hour.

Key Topics

World, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Flightaware, Brussels Airport, Paris, France