Snow and ice across parts of Europe forced flight cancellations and disrupted roads and rail travel on Wednesday, leaving more than 1,000 passengers stranded overnight at Amsterdam’s international airport, Schiphol, the Associated Press reported.
Schiphol set up hundreds of field beds and served breakfast to travelers as airport staff worked to clear snow from runways and deice aircraft. At least 800 flights were canceled Wednesday at the airport, which is described as one of Europe’s busiest aviation hubs.
One passenger, Sonja Wurmlingel, was trying to make her way home to Argentina but said she was still not sure how she would get back. She originally was supposed to fly via the German city of Düsseldorf, but that flight was canceled; she then was rerouted through Paris, but that option was canceled too. “I’ve come from the train and they told me there’s no train,” she said, adding after a long pause: “I don’t know.”
KLM said lines at the airport were decreasing, in part because passengers were warned on time that their flights were canceled, so they did not head to the airport. The Dutch rail and road networks were also hit by fresh snowfall during the morning rush hour and later squalls, with rail operator NS urging travelers to “delay your journey if possible.” NS warned of fewer trains operating as the snow and icy temperatures hit train travel harder than expected, affecting both domestic and international routes.
Drivers faced major slowdowns as well. The AP reported that more than 700 kilometers (435 miles) of traffic jams clogged roads in the Netherlands, with trucks sliding across highways and slow-moving snow plows working to clear routes.
The winter weather also spread to Paris. A skier slid along the snowy bank of the Seine, and roads and parks around the Eiffel Tower and Louvre Museum were blanketed in snow, snarling traffic in parts of France. France’s national weather service, Meteo France, said large parts of northern and western France, including the Paris region, were on alert for snow and black ice.
French authorities advised people to work from home and avoid using cars in snow-hit regions, and banned trucks and school buses from using the roads. Bus traffic was suspended in Paris on Wednesday morning. Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said more than 100 flights were canceled Wednesday at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport and about 40 at Paris Orly airport.
Rail and cross-Channel service were disrupted as well. SNCF warned passengers about delays, saying, “snow on the tracks is forcing us to limit train speed and cancel trains or adjust traffic.” Eurostar trains between Paris, London and Brussels were also delayed.
Other countries reported problems during the same cold snap. In western Sweden, authorities in Göteborg took all city trams out of service Wednesday morning because of the weather, after snow banks churned up by passing trams posed a risk to other traffic, broadcaster SVT reported. In Finland, Finnish broadcaster Yle said bus cancellations and delays occurred in the Helsinki area after diesel buses that had been standing in the cold over the holidays proved difficult to start and driving conditions were poor.
The AP report also said that in Berlin power was being restored to thousands of households after an electricity outage that had lasted four days in freezing temperatures, following a suspected far-left attack on high-voltage lines, authorities said.
Corder reported from The Hague, Netherlands.