Schiphol Airport delays and cancellations « Euro Weekly News

‘Expect delays’ has been the latest update from Schiphol Airport, one of the busiest airports in Europe, which predicts delays or cancellations today of around 100 flights or more.

After several weeks of storms and unpredicatble weather conditions, Storm Darragh is the latest beast to take hold across some parts of Europe. The storm brings heavy wind and rain and is causing severe disruption at this major airport.

Schiphol Airport has advised passengers to expect delays and cancellations as polanes have been grounded due to perilous flight conditions.  So far this morning, 100 flights have been delayed or cancelled but there is the possibility that this could carry on through the afternoon.

Dutch airline KLM has already cancelled 90 flights at Schiphol Airport

Schiphol Airport’s website currently shows most upcoming departures as either cancelled or delayed by a minimum of one hour.  The main flight operator at the airport, Dutch airline KLM, has already cancelled more than 90 flights and advises passengers to check the website and any incoming emails or updates. Many passengers were already pre-warned yesterday about these delays and the airport is managing with passenger traffic, stating that levels are manageable and the situation is under control.

The airport has issued another warning regarding arrivals of passengers to the airports, which may be complicated due to affected road and rail networks. According to the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, there is debris and fallen trees –  the aftermath of gale force winds reaching speeds of  75-90 km/h. They have also warned of some detours as a junction on the A10 will be closed until Monday morning and therefore, paseengers should add a margin to their time schedule to compensate for these inconveniences.

Storm Darragh set to hit the UK later today affecting flights

Later in the day, the latest storm to cause havoc is set to hit the UK and parts of Ireland.  An amber warning has been issued for strong winds in the southwest of England between Friday at 3pm until Sunday early morning by the UK’s Met Office. The same is true in many parts of Ireland. People are being urged to aboid exposed  coastal areas, and to drive cautiously.

British low-cost airline Jet2 has issued warnings that this could cause distuption to flight services in the UK if the weather continues to worsen over the next four days and that customers should make extra time for travelling and be vigilant with updates.

Will I be awarded a refund for delayed or cancelled flights from Schiphol

Many passengers will be wondering whether compensation for delayed flights is viable in these circumstances. The simple answer is that it depends on the flight operator. Travel insurance should cover any delays or cancellations but there may be some catches so passengers should check their policies carefully as this depends on the providor. For those who decide to cancel their trip due to inconvenience, Amsterdam is not currently issuing any refunds as there has been no advice against travel to Amsterdam.

If your trip is completely cancelled by your airline or travel provider due to weather-related events, you will likely be offered compensation and a replacement trip or refund.

Read more about the Netherlands