KLM: More cancellations likely this weekend but IT disruption nearly resolved

The computer failure affecting Dutch airline KLM has almost been resolved, allowing traffic to and from Schiphol Airport to resume. The airline said many of its flights were delayed and cancelled due to the failure, and the timetable has been disrupted to such an extent that KLM is warning of more possible cancellations this weekend.

"These disruptions to the schedule are expected to continue tonight and this weekend when we restart our flight schedule. As a result, we may have to cancel more flights to get our operations back on track," the airline said.

At Schiphol, 185 flights were cancelled on Friday due to the global computer failure. The systems at Schiphol were being restarted by 3:30 p.m., but it has had a major impact on flights to and from the airport.

At that moment, there were still long lines at the check-in desks in the departure halls. Departure halls 1 and 3 were the busiest, according to a reporter at the scene.

KLM was forced to largely suspend operations on Friday morning, and Schiphol said nearly every flight departing from the airport was either delayed or canceled.

"Together with airlines, we are working hard to get all passengers to their destination as quickly as possible. We advise travelers to contact their airline and keep an eye on their current flight information," Schiphol wrote in a statement.

Earlier in the day, KLM went so far as to ask its passengers to avoid going to Schiphol if their flight was cancelled or seriously delayed due to the outage. The airline experienced problems with checking people in, and had other lingering issues.

Airport staff handed out bottles of water to waiting passengers; earlier, they also handed out stroopwafel cookies to the frustrated crowd. On many signs, travel information was replaced by a digital image of a clock to prevent congestion caused by passengers who stop to look at flight information.

Travel organization TUI has holidaymakers check in manually at Schiphol. This makes checking in take longer, but the aim earlier in the day was to have everyone fly away on Friday.

Other airlines and airports were also experiencing problems on Friday. There were also crowds and delays at Eindhoven Airport and Rotterdam The Hague Airport due to the global disruption.