Nine Cancellations by KLM and Air France Disrupt Amsterdam Travel

(PARIS CHARLES DE GAULLE) Thousands of passengers were stranded across Europe on Thursday after KLM and Air France canceled at least nine flights in France and scrubbed many more services across the continent as Storm Benjamin tore through major hubs with severe winds and driving rain. Air traffic at Paris Charles de Gaulle slowed to a crawl as ground teams halted operations repeatedly for safety, while Amsterdam Schiphol absorbed the biggest hit, with cascading delays disrupting connections to Amsterdam, Barcelona, New York, Panama and other long-haul and short-haul routes.

The wave of disruption stretched far beyond France. Within 24 hours, Storm Benjamin triggered the cancellation of 262 flights and delays to more than 870 flights across Europe, stranding thousands from the early morning rush into the overnight hours. At Amsterdam Schiphol, KLM alone canceled 151 flights. At Paris Charles de Gaulle, there were nine cancellations and 180 delays as airlines diverted crews, reshuffled aircraft, and pushed back departures when winds and lightning threatened ramp operations.

Airport authorities described crowded terminals and weary travelers sleeping upright in chairs or on the floor after missed connections and sudden cancellations left people with few options late in the day. Authorities confirmed that

“thousands of travelers [were] stranded at London, Paris, Amsterdam, Dublin, and Frankfurt airports, where air traffic was partially suspended.”
KLM, its regional partner KLM Cityhopper, Air France, and HOP all reported significant schedule changes as the storm intensified over the North Sea and swept inland.

KLM and Cityhopper together reported a total of 152 cancellations and 57 delays. Air France and HOP reported 19 cancellations and 106 delays. Services to and from London, Frankfurt, Dublin, Brussels, Geneva, Munich, Paris-Orly, and London City were also affected as the weather rippled through departure and arrival banks, breaking carefully planned connection windows and creating long queues at service desks and call centers as passengers sought to rebook. Airlines said they had notified passengers by email and SMS and were offering rebooking, travel vouchers, or full refunds depending on ticket rules and the extent of the disruption.

The focus at Paris Charles de Gaulle was on safety. Ramp teams suspended baggage loading and fueling several times when lightning moved over the airfield and when wind gusts exceeded safe limits for ground handling equipment. Similar pauses were reported at Amsterdam and other coastal airports as airlines and airports ran through the standard checks that govern aircraft movements in storm conditions. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency underscored the rationale for widespread cancellations and rolling delays.

“Even the most advanced aviation systems are powerless against nature. The key takeaway is that safety comes first — and Europe’s aviation crews handled the crisis professionally and efficiently,” the agency said.
European carriers say they are required to abide by strict operational thresholds designed to protect crews and aircraft during strong crosswinds, low visibility, and electrical storms.

By late afternoon, the knock-on effects were evident at departure boards in Paris Charles de Gaulle’s terminals, where multiple flights showed rolling delays as aircraft arrived out of sequence and crews ran into regulated duty-time limits. Some flights departed hours late, while others were canceled entirely to preserve crew schedules and prevent further disruption overnight. Airport staff urged passengers to stay close to their gates and watch airline apps for real-time updates, noting that gate changes and new departure times could appear with little notice as controllers sequenced arrivals around bands of heavy weather.

Schedules to long-haul destinations such as New York and Panama, as well as popular European routes like Amsterdam and Barcelona, were hit unevenly through the day. When winds eased briefly, some services were able to depart, but a fresh line of storms would then force more ground stops, compounding the backlog. KLM prioritized stabilizing its Amsterdam hub, where the bulk of cancellations occurred, while Air France focused on protecting its long-haul departures from Paris Charles de Gaulle to limit overnight disruptions to crews and aircraft turnarounds.

For travelers, the immediate advice was to check airline apps and airport websites rather than heading to the airport without confirmation. Passengers whose flights were canceled were told to use digital self-service tools or contact centers to rebook, with most carriers granting free changes within a defined travel window and refunds for those who no longer wished to travel. Airlines also warned that hotel availability near major hubs would be tight because thousands of passengers were re-accommodated simultaneously after the storm intensified across Western Europe.

In the terminals, queues formed at transfer desks as travelers on multi-leg journeys, particularly those connecting through Amsterdam and Paris Charles de Gaulle, sought new itineraries. Ground staff said they were constrained by aircraft and crew availability, with several planes and flight teams out of position after the morning’s cancellations. That mismatch made it harder to reconstruct schedules even as weather improved in bursts. Services into regional airports also faltered as fetch-and-feed flights into the big hubs were pulled, leaving some smaller cities with gaps across the day.

Meteorologists expected Storm Benjamin to weaken by Friday evening, with forecasts indicating stabilization across hub airports. Airlines and airports said that recovery would begin at Amsterdam and Frankfurt, followed by London Heathrow and Paris Charles de Gaulle, though the ripple effects would likely persist into the weekend as aircraft and crews returned to their planned rotations. With capacity constrained and flights already heavily booked, airlines cautioned that standby seats would be scarce through the first wave of recovery on November 7, 2025.

The disruptions were not linked to strikes or labor actions, airline representatives said, noting that past stoppages have created similar backlogs but that Thursday’s problems stemmed directly from severe weather. Regulators and airport operators pointed to clearly defined wind, visibility, and lightning thresholds that trigger immediate pauses in ground operations to protect staff working around jet engines, fueling equipment, and high-profile vehicles in gusty conditions. Lightning in particular can force entire ramp areas to shut down until it is safe for teams to return, which slows baggage handling, pushbacks, and refueling, and then takes time to restart once the all-clear is given.

At Amsterdam, where KLM canceled 151 flights at its primary hub, crew rosters went out of balance early in the day, prompting further cancellations as airlines tried to keep scarce teams aligned with aircraft that were in the right place. At Paris Charles de Gaulle, the nine cancellations and 180 delays reflected both local weather and wider problems across the network as inbound flights from affected airports arrived late, and as controllers sequenced traffic to manage changing wind directions. Flights to London, Frankfurt, Dublin, Brussels, Geneva, Munich, Paris-Orly, and London City faced similar pressures, and in some cases aircraft were diverted temporarily to wait out the worst of the gusts.

The broader market impact was immediate: business travelers missed midday meetings, families with children waited in terminals for rebooked seats, and tourists heading for weekend breaks faced unexpected overnight stays. While airlines provided meal vouchers and, where possible, hotel rooms under their policies, many passengers opted to find accommodations on their own when airline-arranged hotels filled. Train services picked up some of the slack on short cross-border routes, but those tickets grew scarce as afternoon turned to evening and flyers sought alternatives to reach London, Brussels, or Geneva.

Despite the scale of the disruption, there were no reports of injuries or safety incidents. Operators stressed that emergency protocols had worked as designed and that airfields were never unsafe for aircraft or passengers. EASA said crews handled the day’s challenges by strictly following procedures and by deferring flights when conditions crossed safety thresholds. Travelers seeking official guidance on aviation safety during storms can consult the European regulator’s advisories and updates on the European Union Aviation Safety Agency website for the latest information on operational practices.

As the weather system moved eastward, airlines began planning recovery flights to restore normal service, contingent on improved conditions. KLM said rebooking and refunds were available through its official channels, while Air France encouraged customers to use online tools first to avoid long waits at airport service desks. Both carriers asked passengers to keep contact details updated in their profiles to ensure they received email and SMS alerts, and to avoid traveling to the airport without a confirmed seat because many departures remained subject to last-minute change.

For now, the message was consistent from airlines, airports, and regulators: safety first, then methodical recovery.

“Even the most advanced aviation systems are powerless against nature. The key takeaway is that safety comes first — and Europe’s aviation crews handled the crisis professionally and efficiently,” EASA said,
a view echoed on arrival concourses where worn but patient passengers watched screens refresh and waited for the storm to pass. With Storm Benjamin set to ease and traffic at hubs like Amsterdam and Paris Charles de Gaulle poised to normalize, crews expected to work through the backlog into the weekend to reunite passengers with their original plans.