Winter weather disrupts European flights, with major impacts at AMS

A stretch of winter weather across Europe is disrupting aviation and surface transport this week, with passengers facing cancellations, delays, and difficult connections across the region.

Snowfall in the Netherlands created significant pressure on operations at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS), with over 600 cancellations in the last 24 hours, according to FlightAware.

Disruptions have been ongoing for several days, with hundreds of flights cancelled Monday. 

Further snow is expected later this week.

Constraints at KLM

KLM is also facing supply constraints for de-icing fluid. 

Since Friday, January 2, KLM has been de-icing aircraft around the clock using approximately 85,000 liters of fluid per day. 

The supplier, based in Germany, is currently unable to guarantee timely replenishment due to extreme weather conditions and supply delays.

"Due to the winter weather, our operations have been severely disrupted. As a result, we are unable to operate many of our flights," KLM said in a statement. 

"At this time, we are not able to meet the expectations of our passengers, namely taking them to their intended destinations. Normally, when a flight is canceled, passengers are offered an alternative flight within a few hours. However, because the weather conditions have not improved and we can only operate a limited number of flights, some passengers are being offered alternative flights scheduled later in the week." 

Deep freeze

In France, heavy snow forced the closure of six airports in the country's north and west. Authorities reported at least five deaths, according to the Associated Press. 

Paris Charles de Gaulle airport has seen 78 cancellations in the last 24 hours and departure delays averaging 37 minutes, according to FlightAware.

In Germany, authorities issued black ice warnings and advised people to stay home where possible. At Frankfurt Airport, 120 of 1,090 planned takeoffs and landings were cancelled Sunday. 

At Munich Airport, operations were constrained with one runway in use while the second was cleared. In the Netherlands, rail service was widely disrupted due to frozen track switches combined with an early-morning software problem. 

Cross-border rail was also affected, with Eurostar services between Amsterdam and Paris reporting cancellations and delays.

In the U.K., temperatures dropped to –12.5°C, contributing to disruption across northern regions. 

Hundreds of schools closed, rail, and road travel was affected, Liverpool John Lennon Airport temporarily shut, and Glasgow's subway stopped running after ice-related power failures.

In Italy, the weather pattern brought rain rather than snow. Prolonged rainfall caused the Tiber River to overflow, affecting Epiphany events in Rome. 

The city's mayor banned recreational and sporting activity in public areas Tuesday and restricted access in parks and flood-prone zones.

Further east, severe conditions hit parts of the Balkans, where snow, heavy rain, and flooding disrupted transportation and utilities. 

Parts of Serbia also introduced emergency measures, and along the Adriatic, strong winds and rough seas battered parts of Croatia and Montenegro.

Canadian travellers transiting Europe should anticipate missed connections, longer layovers, and reroutes, particularly through major hubs such as Amsterdam and Paris.

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