A severe cold snap has brought travel disruptions to Britain, France, and the Netherlands, with road closures, flight cancellations, and train disruptions reported on Monday. The harsh weather conditions have forced Eurostar to suspend services beyond Brussels, affecting passengers traveling between London and the Netherlands.
The UK’s Met Office has issued fresh weather warnings for snow and ice, with temperatures expected to drop below freezing in many areas. In Scotland, heavy snow has reached up to 52 centimeters in some areas, prompting the deployment of snowploughs to clear tracks. British railway authorities have also cancelled several trains between London and Paris, with most others delayed.
In the Netherlands, NS Dutch railways have reported severe disruptions, especially in the Amsterdam region, with fewer trains running in some parts of the country on Tuesday. The UK’s Met Office has warned of cold weather health alerts for all English regions until Friday, with temperatures expected to fall below freezing overnight.
The disruption follows a recent cold snap in the UK, with temperatures dropping to a low of -10.9°C in northwest England on Sunday night. A total of 212 schools were closed in Northern Ireland on Monday, with dozens of schools also shut in Scotland, Wales, and northern England.
Flights have been cancelled at several airports, including Liverpool, Aberdeen, and Inverness in the UK, as well as Paris’s Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports, where heavy snowfall has forced airlines to reduce their flights by 15%. At Schiphol airport in the Netherlands, over 700 flights were cancelled, more than half of those scheduled to take off or land on Monday.
The weather conditions have also disrupted road travel, with long tailbacks reported in northwest France and the French capital, Paris. The police in Scotland have cautioned road users not to drive through closed roads due to treacherous conditions, while the UK’s roadside assistance provider, the AA, has reported a 40% spike in callouts compared to a typical Monday.
The severe weather conditions are expected to continue, with weather service Meteo France issuing an orange alert for snow and ice for much of northwest France, including Paris, on Monday evening. As the situation continues to unfold, travelers are advised to check with their airlines and train operators for updates on disruptions and cancellations.
