By Bart H. Meijer and Charlotte Van Campenhout, Reuters
A pedestrian takes a picture near the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel covered in snow in Paris. Photo: CHRISTOPHE DELATTRE / AFP
- Hundreds of flights cancelled in Paris, Amsterdam
- Buses in Paris suspended
- 1000km of traffic jams in Paris
- Trains in Amsterdam come to a halt
Heavy snowfall disrupted air, road and rail travel in France and the Netherlands on Monday (local time), as hundreds of flights were cancelled in the countries' capitals, while trains around Amsterdam came to a standstill and bus services in Paris were suspended.
Amsterdam Schiphol airport, one of Europe's busiest hubs, cancelled about 700 flights on Monday as the airport closed to incoming traffic until 1200 GMT due to the snow, a spokesperson said. During that time, planes were diverted to other airports.
"There are long lines here," a traveller stranded at Schiphol told Dutch media outlet AD. "There's not too much clarity on what is actually going to happen."
Meanwhile, France's civil aviation authority asked carriers to reduce takeoffs and landings by 15 percent or roughly 30 flights at Paris-Charles de Gaulle and 40 flights at Paris-Orly until the evening, according to Aeroports de Paris.
1000km of traffic jams in Paris
French transport minister Philippe Tabarot urged travellers to check if their flight was operating before leaving home, and to use public transport to reach the airport.
He also ordered speed restrictions on roads across the Ile-de-France region that surrounds Paris of 80km per hour. State-owned RATP, which operates Paris' public transportation, said it cancelled dozens of bus lines. Underground and suburban trains were operating normally.
Traffic jams reached almost 1000km in total at one point on the roads of Ile-de-France, the website of the region's prefecture showed, up from usual peaks of some 300km.
A diver steers a scooter next to cars on a road during a snowfall in Paris. Photo: LUDOVIC MARIN / AFP
Amsterdam trains at a standstill
Dutch railway company NS said no trains were operating in the region around Amsterdam and public transport was severely affected in many places. NS added that it would implement a "winter scheme" on Tuesday, with fewer trains in service.
International train operator Eurostar said trains originally scheduled to travel to the Netherlands would instead only run as far as Brussels in neighbouring Belgium. Eurostar train departures from the Netherlands on Monday were cancelled.
Ice and snow also caused many delays and accidents on the roads, even as authorities advised people to stay at home whenever possible.
Further delays and disruptions are expected in the coming days due to the ongoing winter weather.
- Reuters
