Heavy snow causes chaos in Europe, killing six and canceling hundreds of flights

Heavy snowfall and icy conditions have caused widespread disruption to travel across Europe, with six people reported dead on the continent in weather-related incidents.

Five people were killed in two different areas of France due to poor driving conditions, and a woman died after 16 inches (40 centimeters) of snow fell in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo, authorities said.

Hundreds of flights were canceled across Europe and thousands of people were stranded at airports in Paris and Amsterdam.

Disruptions are expected to continue into Wednesday.

Authorities said black ice killed three people in two separate incidents in Landes in southwestern France.

Two other people died in car crashes in the Paris area. Police said one of the accidents was caused by a collision between a driver and a heavy goods vehicle in eastern Paris.

Another taxi driver died after hitting a curb due to snow and falling into the Marne River, reports said.

The Balkans also saw snow and heavy rain. A woman died on Monday in the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo after a tree fell on her, weighed down by wet snow, police said.

French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said more snow was expected in the country on Tuesday night and Wednesday. He called on people to travel as little as possible and work from home.

The French National Meteorological Service said 38 regions will enter an orange alert for snow and black ice on Wednesday. Many train services were canceled in parts of the country.

In the French capital, authorities said 40% of flights at Charles de Gaulle Airport would be canceled for several hours on Wednesday morning so crews could clear snow from the runways. The capital Orly Airport plans to cancel a quarter of its flights over the same period.

Amsterdam Schiphol Airport canceled more than 400 flights on Wednesday, causing widespread disruption to travel plans.

Hundreds of passengers were stranded, many unable to catch connecting flights. People queued up at airline counters, waiting for information on when flights would resume.

Many of the canceled flights are operated by KLM, which warned its planes were almost out of de-icing fluid. It blamed “extreme” weather conditions and supply delays.

At Schiphol Airport, many travelers complained about long queues and a lack of information.

Spanish passenger Javier Sepulveda, who was trying to fly from Amsterdam to Norway, told Reuters the situation at the airport was “chaotic, unacceptable, frustrating, annoying” and “totally unacceptable”.

He said he started queuing at the KLM desk at 06:30 local time (07:30 GMT) on Tuesday and, six hours later, was still nowhere near the front of the queue.

“Snow crews are working around the clock to keep the runway clear and aircraft are being carefully de-iced to ensure everyone can travel safely,” Schiphol Airport said.

Another 600 flights scheduled to depart from Schiphol Airport on Wednesday were also canceled, Dutch broadcaster NOS reported.

Rail travel has also been disrupted.

All train services in the Netherlands were briefly halted on Tuesday morning due to an IT glitch.

Some trains started running after 09:00 local time (10:00 GMT), but problems persisted during the day. Eurostar services from Amsterdam to Paris are either canceled or delayed.