BERLIN — Heavy overnight snowfall disrupted air travel across Western Europe on Friday, forcing more than 800 flight cancellations and leading to major delays in Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
Germany appeared the hardest-hit by the snow, with more than 600 flights canceled, schools forced to close and highways clogged with traffic after scores of accidents that killed at least three people and injured dozens.
Snow also hindered flights in the neighboring Netherlands, where Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport saw more than 100 cancellations and major delays ahead of the busy Christmas holiday season, said spokeswoman Mirjam Snoerwang.
Moreover, many passengers whose flights were canceled had their misery compounded by train and bus traffic also being hit hard by the snow.
Netherlands weather agency KNMI issued a “weather alarm” warning of heavy snowfall and lethal driving conditions in large parts of the western Netherlands as traffic jams grew around the major cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague.
Snow also forced the cancellation of about 100 flights in Switzerland, where Geneva’s airport was closed early Friday, though it was open again by midmorning, and flights were also disrupted in Zurich.
A wave of snow and icy weather also caused travel problems across Britain, with trains canceled, schools shut and vehicles sliding on icy roads.
One motorist in the Scottish city of Aberdeen, Kirsty McCullogh, told BBC Radio it had taken her five hours to drive 4 miles.
“It’s absolutely awful, the roads are sheet ice — they’ve not been gritted at all,” she said.
Belfast International Airport was closed Friday morning because of snow, and there were delays and cancellations at other airports, including Aberdeen, Birmingham and Luton.
The Italian island of Capri, meanwhile, woke up to its first snowfall in 25 years, said Luciano Garofano, an official in the mayor’s office. Street cleaners in the chic tourist destination in the Gulf of Naples doused the town’s streets with boiling water to melt the ice.
Snow also coated beaches on the neighboring island of Ischia, whose thermal waters attract visitors all year round.
