Winter Weather Snarls Travel Across Northern Europe

Ice and cold disrupted airports and caused car accidents on Tuesday. More snow is expected in Amsterdam and Brussels on Wednesday.Travelers at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol looking for updates on delayed and canceled flights on Tuesday. Credit...Piroschka Van De Wouw/ReutersJan. 6, 2026Updated 4:08 p.m. ETOne of Europe’s major travel hubs canceled hundreds of flights this week and warned travelers to brace for more disruptions on Wednesday as winter weather across Northern Europe left crews battling days of accumulated ice and snow.Nearly 2,000 flights have been canceled at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol this week, according to airport authorities and the flight-tracking website FlightAware — at least 700 on Monday, 500 on Tuesday and 600 on Wednesday. Officials said in a statement on Tuesday afternoon that train service to and from the airport would be shut down until at least 6 p.m. on Tuesday evening.Wintry conditions were expected to continue from Tuesday evening into Wednesday, according to the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, with snow coming in from the west.“It will be slippery in many places,” the institute said.In neighboring Belgium, Brussels-airport" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="8036" data-entity-type="location">Brussels Airport warned that winter weather was likely to cause interruptions on Wednesday, explaining that “due to de-icing of aircraft and de-icing and snow clearance of runways and taxiways during the snowfall, we expect flight delays during the entire day.”The city’s cobbled streets and cathedrals have already been coated in white for days, and snow showers were expected throughout the morning on Wednesday in Brussels; Paris; Antwerp, Belgium; and other metropolitan areas across Northern Europe.Tuesday was the second consecutive day that weather snarled plans for travelers transiting through Schiphol. Flights were also delayed in other European cities, leaving travelers in Germany, Belgium and elsewhere waiting at airports.In France, where residents were still reeling from unexpectedly strong snowfalls on Monday, the local authorities were also preparing for more cold to hit the country overnight. French news media reported that five people had died in road accidents around the country. See temperatures as... Low-temperature forecast for Tuesday -40°C -30°C -20°C -10°C 0°C Sources: University of Maine Climate Change Institute and the National Centers for Environmental Prediction Global Forecast System Note: Forecasts are for 7 p.m. Eastern on Jan. 5, 2026, to 4 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2026. By Lazaro Gamio, Zach Levitt, Eric Rabinowitz and William B. Davis France’s national weather service placed about a third of the country on high alert as more snowfall is expected on Tuesday night, and the French interior ministry activated an emergency meeting.Officials said school transportation would not run on Wednesday in several regions, including in areas around Paris, where the speed limit has been reduced to 70 kilometers per hour, or about 43 m.p.h. “The region is prepared,” Valérie Pécresse, the head of the regional council of the Paris region, said in a TV interview. “The real problem is that these weather events often catch us by surprise.”Philippe Tabarot, the French transportation minister, urged people to work from home if possible on Wednesday, and he said that the authorities in several areas of France were banning heavy trucks from circulating.Mr. Tabarot also told reporters at a news conference that about 40 percent of flights would be canceled at Charles de Gaulle Airport near Paris in the morning and early afternoon. A quarter of flights will be canceled at Orly, the metro’s other main airport, in the morning, he added.Traffic was completely halted at the airport of Nantes, in western France, France’s civil aviation authority said on social media.Aimee Ortiz covers breaking news and other topics.Jeanna Smialek is the Brussels bureau chief for The Times.Ségolène Le Stradic is a reporter and researcher covering France.SKIP