A powerful winter storm has paralysed much of Europe, killing six people and stranding thousands of travellers at airports and train stations. Heavy snowfall and subzero temperatures have left roads an icy minefield and forced major travel hubs to close.
In France, this cold snap has proved fatal. Five people were killed in road accidents brought on by “black ice”, a thin, practically invisible layer of frozen water on paved surfaces. Three others died in the southwest region of Landes, and two in or near Paris, including a taxi driver whose vehicle plunged into a river. Further to the east, in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo, a woman was also killed after a tree laden with nearly 16 inches of snow fell on her.
Airports Paralysed by Record Snow
In major airports, snow and ice are becoming a problem. At Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport, one of the busiest in Europe, more than 600 flights were cancelled on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Dutch airline KLM’s predicament became so dire that it issued a warning that it was running out of de-icing fluid, the chemical process used to melt ice off plane wings, because of the extreme weather and delivery delays.
The chaos also spread to Paris, where Charles de Gaulle and Orly, the two main airports in the city, both had to cancel about 40% of their morning flights and 25%, respectively. Ground crews laboured around the clock to clear runways, but passengers were either forced to sleep on terminal floors or spend over six hours queuing up simply to speak with airline personnel.
Rail Systems and Roads in Tatters
Travelling overland has not been easier. In the Netherlands, an IT failure continued to frustrate travellers as every single train in the country came to a halt for several hours on Tuesday morning. While some trains started moving again by midmorning, high-speed Eurostar services between Amsterdam and London and Paris were either cancelled or subject to heavy delays.
Weather specialists caution that the threat is not over. Much of France was still on “orange alert,” the second-highest warning level, as new snow and freezing rain were expected. Transport officials are encouraging anybody who can to work from home and stay off the roads, while the thawed snow is expected to refreeze overnight, leading to even more treacherous conditions for drivers.
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