Refueling problems causing cancellations at Schiphol; No solution before late Wednesday

A refueling system problem at Schiphol Airport was likely to cause significant delays to hundreds of departing and arriving flights, the airport said on Wednesday afternoon. The fault in the system was not likely to be resolved before late Wednesday evening, a spokesperson told NU.nl. Thursday morning flights could potentially be affected as well, the spokesperson said.

There were about 130 departures canceled of those flights scheduled to depart between noon and midnight, and another 230 which were delayed. Arriving flights were similarly affected, according to the airport's website.

The issue began around 1 p.m. but passengers were not affected until closer to 2:30 p.m. The problem was still under investigation and had reportedly not been identified by 6:30 p.m. Hundreds of flights were initially scheduled to depart Wednesday afternoon and evening.

The issue was with third-party provider Aircraft Fuel Supply, according to Schiphol. "Aircraft Fuel Supply are working hard to find a solution, but as yet it is unclear about how long this will take," the airport said in a statement.

Once a solution is ready it could take an additional half-hour to get the system operational. The airport had earlier said the issue might not be fixed for up to two hours, according to broadcaster NOS.

Schiphol said travellers could expect updates on its social media channels, in the app, and through the airlines' own customer service representatives.