Over 30 people have already been turned away from the Dutch borders since the entry ban came into force on Thursday at 6 p.m., the Marechaussee confirmed to NL Times. Most travelers who were denied entry into the Netherlands were turned back after landing at Schiphol Airport, while two travelers were turned back at Eindhoven Airport, the military branch said.
So far, no denials of entry have been made at any of the Dutch land borders or seaports.
The Netherlands was placed on a Code Yellow weather alert due to high winds brought by winter storm Dennis. The Code Yellow warning took effect overnight along the northern coast, and covered the whole country from 8 a.m. on Sunday.
Strong winds continue to blow along the coast of the Netherlands on Tuesday. Schiphol warned travelers that this can lead to more canceled and delayed flights. Travelers association ANWB also warned road users to be aware of the strong winds and adjust their driving behavior accordingly.
By 7:20 a.m., Schiphol reported 47 canceled departures, 51 canceled arrivals, and dozens of delays on its website. There are also many gate changes for departures, so travelers are advised to check their flight information carefully.
The last bits of winter storm Ciara is still affecting all types of traffic in the Netherlands. Hundreds of flights are canceled at Schiphol for Monday. NS reports a dozen problems on the tracks. And ANWB and Rijkswaterstaat warn of a very busy morning rush hour on the road. Commuters are advised to keep an eye on weather reports and travel planners.
Meteorological institute KNMI still has a code yellow weather warning in place for the whole country, warning of strong winds with gusts up to 100 kilometers per hour. The wind is expected to die down by late morning.
Fifteen Dutch and two Chinese spouses who were evacuated from the city of Wuhan - the epicenter of the new coronavirus outbreak - arrived safely at Eindhoven Airport around midnight, Minister Stef Blok of Foreign Affairs said on Twitter. The group departed from Wuhan during the early hours of Sunday morning, arrived in France at around 2:00 p.m., and then traveled to the Netherlands, NU.nl reports.
People who flew from the Dutch airports last year, most often flew to London. The most plane passengers traveled from the Netherlands to Heathrow Airport in London. And London was the most popular destination for flights from four of the five national Dutch airports last year, Statistics Netherlands reported on Thursday.
A total of 1.75 million people flew between a Dutch airport and London Heathrow last year. El Prat airport in Barcelona was the second most popular destination with 1.61 million travelers, followed by Dublin with 1.35 million.
Fog is again causing problems at Eindhoven Airport on Tuesday morning. All morning departures and arrivals have been delayed or canceled due to poor visibility. No arrivals are expected until at least 10:00 a.m., and the first departure is expected to happen sometime after 9:15 a.m., according to flight info from the airport's site. Flights to Schiphol Airport are also facing delays.
Dozens of airline passengers spent the first night of the New Year sleeping at Eindhoven Airport after low visibility prevented aircraft from taking off or landing. The country's second largest airport had struggled with fog since Tuesday.
A ground stop was put in place Wednesday afternoon at Eindhoven Airport preventing all aircraft from taking off and landing at the second largest airport in the Netherlands. The problem, due to freezing fog, could continue through midnight, according to a bulletin released by Eurocontrol, the European organization for air traffic safety.
The weather was also causing problems at Schiphol Airport, and to a far lesser extent at Rotterdam The Hague Airport.
Flight traffic at Eindhoven Airport started up early Thursday afternoon after thick fog and poor visibility kept planes grounded throughout the morning. A large number of flights are reported as delayed on Schiphol's site.
Commuters throughout the Netherlands can expect thick fog along the roadways Thursday morning, and the reduced visibility was likely to cause problems throughout the morning at Eindhoven Airport. Meteorological institute KNMI issued a code yellow warning for the whole country except Zeeland and the Wadden Islands, with visibility falling below 200 meters in some places.
Fog is causing visibility problems in the Netherlands' southern promises on Wednesday morning. Meteorological institute KNMI issued a code yellow weather warning. Eindhoven Airport warns that the fog may cause some flight delays.
The airport's site shows a handful of delayed arrivals and departures, but so far none of the delays are longer than 30 minutes.
A suspicious package was found in the arrival hall of Eindhoven Airport on Monday morning. The Ministry of Defense's explosive removal department is at the scene to investigate, the Oost-Brabant police and the Koninklijke Marechaussee said on Twitter.
The Koninklijke Marechaussee, a policing force that works as part of the Dutch military and is responsible for airport security, confirmed the Defense experts' arrival at the airport at 10:57 a.m.
Part of the arrival hall is cordoned off to keep travelers at a safe distance.
Four political parties have teamed up on a proposal to reduce the highway speed limit in Den Haag to 80 kilometers per hour. The parties, including the city’s governing coalition members GroenLinks and D66, have also called for a ban on older diesel vehicles and an expansion of the city’s environmental zones.
The rule changes also have the backing of the animal rights party PvdD and the Christian party bloc CU/SGP. Together the four groups represent 20 of the city’s 45 council seats.
Budget airline Transavia weighed the passengers of five flights from Eindhoven Airport on Friday in an experiment to improve its fuel calculations and reduce its CO2 emissions, Eindhoven Airport said on Twitter.
"Through a more precise determination of the weight on board, the fuel calculation can be performed even more accurately, with the goal of less CO2 emissions", the airport said. Participation in the experiment is voluntary.
A malfunction in Eindhoven Airport's baggage system on Tuesday morning caused some issues at the airport. All departures from the airport were delayed. Some passengers missed their flights. And some flights left with not all baggage on board, NOS reports.
Due to the malfunction, all baggage had to be checked in manually. "That takes much longer than through the normal system", a spokesperson for the airport said to NOS.
Transavia Airlines and Eindhoven Airport both performed poorly on new global rankings by AirHelp. The site for helping travelers claim compensation from airlines ranked Transavia as the 65th best airline in the world, out of a list of 72. And Eindhoven Airport was ranked the 130th best airport in the world, out of 132 airports.
A Ryanair flight that left from the Portuguese city of Faro to Eindhoven on Sunday morning, had to make an emergency landing in Paris due to a technical defect. According to passengers on the plane, one of the Boeing 737's engines failed, NU.nl reports.
The number of passengers traveling through the five Dutch airports keeps growing. In all of last year a total of 79.6 million people traveled through the airports in the Netherlands, 4.5 percent more than in 2017, Statistics Netherlands reported on Monday.
With an average wind speed of 9 on the Beaufort scale in Vlissingen, the first official spring storm of the year became a fact on Sunday. Local safety offices in Noord-Brabant and Zeeland received dozens of damage reports. In Limburg train traffic was halted because of fallen trees on the tracks. And Eindhoven Airport had to temporarily keep all flights on the ground.
The Rotterdam The Hague Airport is temporarily closed on Tuesday due to snowfall. The fire department is at the airport to clear snow off the runways, but did not have much success, a spokesperson said to RTV Rijnmond. The airport will assess the situation again after 2:00 p.m. and decide whether it can reopen.
At least one incoming flight was redirected to Schiphol due to the closure, according to the broadcaster. A few departing flights have been delayed
Ryanair filed for the collective dismissal of its Dutch staff, including 16 Dutch pilots who previously won a lawsuit against the Irish budget airline, pilots' union VNV said. Ryanair said it is taking this step for economic reasons, NU.nl reports.
Flight traffic at Eindhoven Airport was halted on Sunday due to fog. This resulted in some 900 travelers being stuck at the airport. The airport asked the Red Cross to place 500 camping cots at the terminal, ANP reports.
Not all the beds were occupied. A number of travelers were able to go home, to family or to a hotel. Food and drinks were organized for those who ended up spending the night at the airport.
Whether the flights canceled on Sunday will all be made up on Monday, is not yet clear. At this stage Eindhoven Airport does not report any cancellations or delays.
Sixteen Ryanair cabin crew workers at Eindhoven Airport have been fired by the Irish budget airline, according to union FNV. According to the airline, these workers were still in their trial period, which lasts a year according to Irish employment law, NOS reports.
