Heavy snowfall and icy conditions across Europe have caused major travel disruptions, claiming the lives of six people in weather-related incidents.
In France, authorities reported five deaths linked to hazardous driving conditions. Three fatalities occurred in Landes in the south-west due to black ice, while two more were recorded in the Paris region. One victim died in a collision involving a heavy goods vehicle in east Paris, and another lost their life when a taxi driver, struggling with snowy roads, hit a kerb and plunged into the Marne River.
Elsewhere in Europe, a woman in Sarajevo, Bosnia, died after a tree, weighed down by 40cm (16 inches) of snow, collapsed onto her.
Air travel across the continent has been severely affected. Hundreds of flights were cancelled, leaving thousands of passengers stranded at major hubs, including Paris and Amsterdam. Disruptions are expected to continue into Wednesday.
In France, Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot warned that further snowfall is expected through Tuesday night and Wednesday, urging residents to limit travel and work from home where possible. The national weather service has placed 38 districts on orange alert for snow and black ice, with many train services also cancelled.
Airports in the French capital faced significant disruptions. Roissy-Charles de Gaulle was set to cancel 40% of flights on Wednesday morning to allow staff to clear snow from runways, while Orly Airport planned to cancel a quarter of flights.
At Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, over 400 flights were cancelled, stranding hundreds of travellers and creating long queues as passengers sought updates. Many of the cancelled flights were operated by KLM, which reported low supplies of de-icing fluid, citing extreme weather and delivery delays as the cause.
Spanish passenger Javier Sepulveda, attempting to fly from Amsterdam to Norway, described the situation as “chaotic, frustrating, and totally unacceptable,” having spent six hours in line without reaching the front.
Schiphol officials said that snow-clearing crews were working continuously to keep runways safe and ensure aircraft were properly de-iced. However, an additional 600 flights scheduled for Wednesday were also cancelled, according to Dutch broadcaster NOS.
Rail services have also been disrupted. On Tuesday, all train operations in the Netherlands were briefly halted due to an IT outage. Some services resumed after 09:00 local time, but delays and cancellations persisted, including Eurostar trains from Amsterdam to Paris.
