• A severe winter storm has caused major disruption across European transport hubs, with Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport cancelling over 700 flights due to heavy snowfall and a shortage of de-icing fluid.
• Air France-KLM, responsible for most de-icing at Schiphol, has used a full season’s supply in just days. France’s civil aviation authority has also ordered a 40 percent reduction in flights at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport.
• Rail services, including Eurostar and local trains, have also been severely impacted. 

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is facing ongoing disruption as a wave of extreme winter weather continues to sweep across Europe. Heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures have forced hundreds of flight cancellations since Friday 2 January, with operations hampered further by a critical shortage of aircraft de-icing fluid.

Severe winter weather recently disrupted operations at Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS), forcing the cancellation of around 1,700 flights — approximately 50 percent of total scheduled services — over a three-day period in early January. Despite this, cargo capacity at the airport fell by a more modest 14 percent year-on-year, according to data from Aevean.

The limited impact on freight throughput is attributed to the fact that most of the cancelled flights were narrowbody passenger services, while long-haul and freighter operations remained relatively unaffected.

“Heavy snow led to the cancellation of ~1,700 flights, but cargo capacity was only down 14 percent year-on-year, as the majority of impacted flights were narrowbodies,” commented Maarten Wormer, Head of Consulting at Aevean.

KLM, the airport’s largest operator, said that it had cancelled 300 flights to and from Schiphol on Monday and warned that this number may “still increase”. This follows the cancellation of hundreds of KLM flights since Friday due to the winter weather.

The carrier warned that current winter conditions “are expected to continue in the coming days”, which may lead to further cancellations and delays from Schiphol.

Other airlines, including British Airways and easyJet, have also been forced to cancel flights to and from Schiphol due to the snowy conditions over the past four days.

Train services between Schiphol and Amsterdam Central Station have also been disrupted by the winter weather.

Rail company NS said in a statement on Monday: “Due to weather conditions, there is currently no train service in the Amsterdam region. Please do not travel or use alternative transport.”

Eurostar has also warned that its services are “likely to be subject to severe delays and last-minute cancellations”.

The post Amsterdam Schiphol Airport hit by severe weather disruption amid de-icer shortage appeared first on Air Cargo Week.