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KLM has warned that Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport is at risk of running out of de-icing fluid after it was hit by several days of severe snow storms, forcing the Dutch airline to cancel hundreds of flights.
The airline, owned by French-Dutch group Air France-KLM, said on Tuesday that delays from its de-icer supplier and “extreme weather conditions” meant its “stock levels are running low”.
It is receiving daily deliveries, but now its supplier in Germany is “currently unable to guarantee timely replenishment”.
The airline has sent a team to Germany to collect fluids, and is “making every effort to secure additional supplies”.
The impending de-icer shortage has compounded problems for the airline, which has also warned passengers stranded at the airport they may have to wait several days for alternative flights – as it canceled a further 600 flights that were due to take off on Wednesday.
“Normally, when a flight is cancelled, passengers are offered an alternative flight within a few hours,” KLM said. “However, because weather conditions have not improved and we can only operate a limited number of flights, some passengers are being offered alternative flights scheduled at the end of the week.”
It warned that “persistent snowfall is expected on (Wednesday) morning, accompanied by strong winds from the south to south-east.”
Airlines have canceled more than 1,000 flights since Friday, and many hundreds of flights have been delayed, leaving thousands of passengers unable to fly from the airport, which is the busiest in Europe and a major connection for long-haul travelers.
European air traffic control service Eurocontrol warned it expected “no improvement” at Dutch airports on Wednesday, and asked airlines to cut 70 percent of their expected flights.
“The weather is causing a significant outbound disruption, so inbound capacity is being reduced to balance demand,” it said Tuesday evening. Its weather forecast is for snowfall to continue in Scandinavia, the UK and the Netherlands on Wednesday.
Europe has been hit by a cold wave and snowfall is occurring across the region. The UK has warned that Storm Goretti will bring more snowfall on Thursday and cause further travel disruption.
KLM, which is responsible for de-icing the majority of aircraft at Schiphol, has a dedicated team of 100 employees who manage this task. The company said on Tuesday they are using about 85,000 liters of the fluid per day on their planes, while the fleet of 25 de-icing trucks has been in “continuous use since Friday”.
De-icing the runway and other equipment at Schiphol is carried out by Menzies Aviation, which said it had sufficient supplies at the airport and on its European and UK networks. “We have de-icing fluid in stock, our next delivery is scheduled for tomorrow (Wednesday),” it said.
Schiphol Airport said it had “sufficient winter operating materials to keep runways, taxiways and aircraft clear. However, de-icing of aircraft is the responsibility of the airlines, and their liquid reserves and procedures are completely different from the materials used by airports to clear runways.”
It said its “snow crews are working around the clock to keep the runways clear, and aircraft are being carefully cleared of snow to ensure everyone can travel safely”, but “winter conditions are expected to cause disruption to flight schedules in the coming days. This could result in delays and cancellations.”
Other European airlines, including Ryanair, easyJet and Lufthansa, reported they had no problems with de-icing supplies.
