Some 575 flights cancelled, delayed at Schiphol amid snow; 50 more affected tomorrow

Roughly half of all flights in and out of Schiphol Airport on Sunday faced either cancellation or delay, with several centimeters of snow predicted over the course of the evening. Airlines operating at the Amsterdam-area facility cancelled 119 departures and 98 arrivals. and a few dozen more on Monday, according to Schiphol's website.

"Heavy delays are expected" at the airport, which asked airlines to cancel about 60 percent of flight movements between 5 p.m. and midnight, according to European air traffic center Eurocontrol. "A band of snow is moving east across Benelux and eastern France into Germany," the organization said, noting that up to 6 centimeters could affect Schiphol, and the airports in Brussels and Frankfurt.

Dutch airline KLM, the largest operator at Schiphol, said the "expected snowfall" meant that "the airport’s start and landing capacity has significantly decreased." The airline said the most affected flights were short-haul and medium-haul flights," and more "last-minute delays and cancellations" could crop up before the end of the day.

Airlines cancelled 119 departures and 98 arriving flights as of 6:30 p.m., and announced delays to 230 more scheduled outbound flights, and 128 inbound flights. Delays ranged from just a few minutes to several hours. A total of 582 departures were scheduled over the course of Sunday, and 576 flights were supposed to land at the airport.

While Eindhoven Airport did not face any cancellations, two dozen departures and 18 arriving flights were delayed, though many of the delays were minor. Rotterdam The Hague Airport saw one cancelled departure, two cancelled arrivals, and one inbound flight diverted to Schiphol. Twelve other departures were delayed, as well as eight arriving flights.

Airlines already cancelled 31 flights due to arrive at Schiphol on Monday, as well as nine departing flights. It was already clear at least nine more arrivals were likely to be delayed, the airport's website stated.

Eurocontrol cautioned about the possibility of "breezy conditions with scattered showers and a risk of hail and thunderstorms" following the snow on Monday morning. This could affect the Netherlands, as well as Belgium, France, Luxembourg, and coastal regions in Ireland and the United Kingdom.

"Tonight and overnight, snow will cause some slippery conditions. In the northeast, the slippery conditions will continue until Monday morning," said Dutch motor association ANWB on Sunday evening.

Road traffic was not particularly jammed on the major highways. Traffic backed up at a number of points around Badhoevedorp along the A4 and A9, and near De Nieuwe Meer on the A10, due to roadworks, as well as on the southbound A30 from Barneveld to Ede.

Dutch national railway NS previously anticipated issues near Bijlmer at the southeast of Amsterdam, affecting several routes. There was also a switch failure affecting trains between the central stations of Utrecht and Leiden, including Alphen aan den Rijn. The problem was not expected to be resolved before 12:45 a.m. on Monday, adding 15 minutes to passenger journeys.