Snowstorms Trigger Widespread Flight Cancellations Across Major European Hubs

2026-02-16 global

Paris, Monday, 16 February 2026.
European air travel faces critical instability as severe snowstorms cause over 5,000 delays and 700 cancellations today, heavily impacting major business gateways like Paris and Amsterdam.

Operational Instability Across European Airspace

The severe weather system that swept through Europe on Sunday, February 15, 2026, has precipitated a logistical crisis extending into today’s operations. Data indicates that the heavy snowfall and icy conditions resulted in 5825 total flight disruptions across the continent, comprising 733 cancellations and 5,092 delays [1][5]. While the initial impact was concentrated on Sunday, the residual effects are severely hampering schedules this Monday morning, particularly for legacy carriers attempting to recover network integrity. The epicenter of this disruption lies within the critical business corridors connecting France, the Netherlands, and the UK, where infrastructure limitations under adverse weather have forced significant capacity reductions [1].

Hub-Specific Bottlenecks: Paris and Amsterdam

France’s aviation sector has faced acute constraints following a directive from the Directorate General for Civil Aviation (DGAC). In response to the snow and ice alerts covering 15 departments in northern France, the regulator mandated a 30% reduction in flight schedules at Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) between 07:00 and 16:00, and a 20% reduction at Paris Orly (ORY) between 06:00 and 14:00 on Sunday [3][4][6]. Consequently, CDG recorded 129 cancellations and 228 delays, while Orly saw 15 cancellations and 143 delays [1]. Ground operations at Roissy (CDG) were further complicated by a severe backlog in de-icing procedures; at the peak of the disruption, 60 aircraft were queued for treatment, inflating average taxi-out times to 50 minutes—nearly triple the standard 18-minute duration [5].

Legacy Carrier Impact and Forward-Looking Risks

The ripple effects of yesterday’s cancellations are evident in today’s schedule, particularly for Air France. Specific cancellations for Monday, February 16, include flight AFR1611 from Hamburg to Paris and AFR1335 from London Heathrow to Paris, disrupting early morning corporate itineraries [2]. Beyond the Franco-Dutch axis, disruptions have permeated the wider European network. Lufthansa’s hubs were not spared, with Munich (MUC) registering 233 delays and Frankfurt (FRA) facing 126 delays [1]. In the UK, easyJet struggled with significant schedule slippage, reporting 521 delayed flights, predominantly affecting London terminals [1].

Sources

Aviation Logistics