Fog causes flight delays at various Dutch airports
Update 2:00 p.m. - Air traffic at all three airports has resumed. The fog dissipated enough by noon to start flying again. Travelers were advised to keep an eye on their travel information as flights were still running behind schedule.
Air traffic to and from Schiphol, Rotterdam, The Hague Airport, and Eindhoven Airport was affected by the fog on Friday morning. Several incoming flights got diverted or delayed, and several departing aircraft were still unable to take off at 11:30 a.m.
According to an airport spokesperson, visibility in Rotterdam was 275 meters at 11:30 a.m. and 200 meters earlier in the morning, which "is far too little." You need at least 450 meters of visibility to fly. That is why about six flights were delayed. One flight to Rotterdam got stuck in Germany, with about 150 people on board. It should have arrived at 9:45 a.m. but got delayed until at least noon.
Air traffic to and from Eindhoven was not possible at 11:30 a.m. About twenty flights that should have departed from Eindhoven until noon were delayed or canceled. Over ten flights that were supposed to arrive at Eindhoven since 8:20 a.m. got diverted to, among others, Maastricht or the German airports of Cologne and Weeze. Eindhoven Airport reported that the terminal was crowded and that the area behind the security checkpoint was closed.
Multiple arriving and departing flights were also delayed at Schiphol. According to an airport spokesperson, pilots were asked to keep an extra distance due to the fog, causing delays. One-way flights were canceled. Schiphol could not say exactly how many flights were affected by the mist.
Reporting by ANP
