Chaos continues at Schiphol in Amsterdam, where travelers have been stranded for several days. The airport has declared force majeure and KLM has canceled another 600 flights.
According to the airline, the problems are due to the snow but also a lack of de-icing fluid.
The snowstorm is hitting train and air traffic hard in Europe. The Netherlands and Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. There, travelers have been stranded for several days and forced to spend the night at the airport.
The airline KLM has canceled 3,000 flights since Friday, according to NL Times. Latest 600 flights on Wednesday. Force majeure has also been declared at the airport.
Snow and ice are causing problems for air traffic, but so is the lack of de-icing fluid, according to KLM. The fluid is used to wash ice off aircraft.
The airline stated on Tuesday that deliveries are delayed and that stock is now starting to run out.
85,000 liters per day
KLM is responsible for removing ice from most aircraft at Schiphol. A team of 100 people works on the task, using a total of 85,000 liters of de-icing fluid per day using 25 machines.
The supplier in Germany has announced that they cannot deliver more liquid on time. KLM has therefore sent its own staff to Germany to pick up the liquid themselves.
And it will be needed.
Orange weather warnings for heavy snowfall have been issued for large parts of the Netherlands on Wednesday. According to the European aviation organization Eurocontrol, no improvements are expected in the coming days.
The expert: ”Too expensive”
Air traffic expert Joris Melkert tells the Dutch public service broadcaster NOS that airports like Schiphol do not purchase enough de-icing fluid.
"Airlines know that the weather can cause problems a few times a year, but then it's usually strong winds. It's been a long time since it snowed this much," he tells NOS.
De-icing fluid must be handled by trained personnel and requires special machinery. Purchasing extra equipment for snowy days would be too costly.
– On days like these, there is never enough equipment. The process itself takes between 5 and 20 minutes per aircraft. On average, there are 1,300 flights per day and there are not hundreds of these machines. If you buy more machines, which also have to be maintained all year round, the user costs at Schiphol increase – and the flight tickets are already expensive. The conclusion is: boring, but unfortunately, he says.
Source Expressen.se
