Winter weather: 132 Schiphol flights canceled; Icy roads, but no major traffic issues
Snowfall in the center and east of the country has triggered a code yellow warning for icy roads, bike paths, and sidewalks in large parts of the Netherlands. The weather was expected to affect morning rush hour, but at 7:00 a.m., the Rijkswaterstaat reported that all was quieter than usual on the roads. At Schiphol Airport, airlines canceled 132 flights as a precaution, and 100 flights are delayed.
“In the center and southern regions, snow is falling,” the meteorological institute KNMI said. “The snow will make roads, cycle paths, and sidewalks slippery in places, particularly around the river area. The snowfall will decrease late morning and thaw, causing the slippery conditions to disappear in the early afternoon.”
The KNMI expects 1 to 3 centimeters of snow in many places, and up to 5 centimeters around the river area. A code yellow icy roads warning is in effect for Noord-Holland, Flevoland, Gelderland, Zuid-Holland, Utrecht, Noord-Brabant, and Limburg. The KNMI expects the warning to lapse by 1:00 p.m.
The winter weather is affecting air traffic at Schiphol Airport. “Due to the expected wintry weather conditions, travelers should anticipate possible delays and cancellations on Thursday, 19 February, starting in the morning,” the airport said. Travelers are advised to check their current flight information before leaving for the airport.
At 7:45 a.m., the airport listed 66 canceled departures and 66 canceled arrivals. The canceled flights are mainly KLM flights to and from other European destinations, though some international flights and flights by other airlines are also affected. 87 arriving flights were delayed, as were 13 departing flights.
On the roads, the weather was having less impact than feared. “It’s 7:00 a.m., and there’s only a 15-kilometer traffic jam nationwide,” the infrastructure agency Rijkswaterstaat said. “The weather conditions aren’t affecting rush hour, and there are no incidents.”
At 7:50 a.m., the road users’ association ANWB recorded 55 traffic jams covering 223 kilometers of Dutch roads. Unlike the Rijkswaterstaat, which only monitors highways, the ANWB keeps track of traffic on all Dutch roads.
Winter weather usually also affects train traffic, with railway switches freezing. That wasn’t an issue on Thursday morning. NS reported only three issues on the track, all caused by broken trains.
