Heavy snowfall has intensified travel disruption across the Paris region, with around 100 flights cancelled at Charles de Gaulle Airport and a further 40 flights cancelled at Orly Airport, according to France’s transport minister.
France’s civil aviation authority has instructed airlines to significantly reduce operations, requesting a 40 percent cut in flights at Paris’ main international hub, Roissy–Charles de Gaulle, and a 25 percent reduction at the smaller Orly airport. The measures are intended to ease congestion and maintain safety as snow and ice continue to affect runways and ground handling.
The disruption had been anticipated since the previous evening. Speaking to CNews, Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said he was hoping the situation would begin to return to normal later in the afternoon, depending on weather conditions.
Beyond aviation, road transport has also been heavily affected. All public bus services in Paris and its surrounding suburbs were suspended due to icy roads, transport authorities said. While most metro and suburban rail services continued to operate, officials warned of possible delays. In a further escalation, French authorities banned trucks and school buses from roads in roughly a third of the country’s administrative departments, the majority of them in the northern half of France.
France’s national weather service, Météo-France, said 38 of the country’s 96 mainland departments were on alert for heavy snow and black ice, with accumulations of between 3cm and 7cm already recorded. The agency described the cold snap as being of “rare intensity for the season.”
Authorities have urged residents in the Paris region to avoid unnecessary travel and work from home where possible. Heavy snow fell across the capital as daylight broke, compounding early-morning disruption. Forecasters warned that the same weather system is affecting neighbouring countries, with cold weather alerts covering large parts of France and Britain, where southern regions are expected to see the worst conditions in the coming days.
