Icy cold snap grips swathes of Europe, disrupting travel
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In France, a prolonged cold snap saw freezing temperatures overnight after snow across the Paris region and large parts of the country on Jan 5.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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AMSTERDAM – Freezing weather gripped swathes of Europe on Jan 6, with snow and icy conditions forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights in the Netherlands and leading to the deaths of five people on French roads.
All domestic rail services in the Netherlands were suspended early on Jan 6 after an IT outage compounded disruption across the country’s rail network
Trains began running in parts of the country after 9am GMT, but problems persisted in the region around Amsterdam, a popular tourist destination.
High-speed Eurostar services to Paris from Amsterdam were either cancelled or running late.
At the city’s Schiphol airport, over 400 flights were cancelled, most of them by the Dutch unit of Air France-KLM, as the winter weather crippled traffic at one of Europe’s main transit hubs for a fifth day.
“We haven’t experienced such extreme weather conditions in years,” KLM spokesperson Anoesjka Aspeslagh told Reuters.
Stranded at Schiphol, Ms Simiao Sun said she feared she’d spend her 40th birthday in transit, and had been told she would have to wait three days for a rescheduled flight to Beijing.
“My child would miss school, and we would both miss work, so I’m queuing here... hoping to get a slightly earlier flight.”
Spanish national Javier Sepulveda was stuck at Schiphol trying to get back to his home in Norway for the third day.
He said he started queuing at the KLM help desk at 6.30am on Jan 6 and that six hours later, he was still not close to reaching the front of the line.
“I can only describe the situation... as chaotic, insane,” the 39-year-old said.
KLM said it was offering alternative flights where possible and doing everything to help travellers, but it was “overwhelmed with inquiries.”
Snow falls over large parts of Germany and France
In Germany, temperatures fell well below minus 10 deg C in the south and east early on Jan 6.
Much of the country was covered in snow.
Parts of Europe, including Britain, France and Germany were braced for another snow-carrying storm to hit on Jan 8 and Jan 9.
Large parts of the country were covered in snow, including regions close to the North Sea, where thick layers of snow have become increasingly uncommon. Meteorologists forecast a storm to hit the country on Jan 9, with heavy snowfall expected in the north and east.
French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot urged people to travel as little as possible on the roads and to work from home.
Five people have been killed in road accidents linked to the freezing conditions since Jan 5, BFMTV and other French media reported.
Snow-laden tree crushes woman in Sarajevo
Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, the Meteorological Office on Jan 5 said winter weather hazards could continue throughout the week for most of the country.
It issued an amber warning, its second-most severe after red, for snow in central Scotland.
It said temperatures overnight to Jan 6 had fallen as low as -12.5 deg C in Marham, Norfolk, in east England, marking the coldest night of the winter in the country so far.
Heavy snow and rain have also caused havoc across the Western Balkans, closing roads, cutting power and causing rivers to flood.
A woman died in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo on Jan 5 after a tree overburdened with wet snow fell on her. REUTERS
