Due to the snowfall in Belgium, 40 flights have been cancelled at Brussels Airport on Wednesday: 20 arriving and 20 departing flights. The airport is also expecting delays the entire day.
Due to the de-icing of aircraft and the de-icing and snow clearance of runways and taxiways during the snowfall, the airport is expecting flight delays during the entire day, according to its website.
"We expect delays due to the snow, which is why the flights have been cancelled," Jeffrey Franssens, spokesperson for the airport, told The Brussels Times. "Our teams are prepared to de-ice the aircraft and the runways later today."
Both departing and arriving flights are experiencing an average delay of an hour to an hour and 15 minutes. "We are aware that this is not fun, but we are doing this to guarantee the safety of our passengers. And unfortunately, these things take time."
At Charleroi Airport (BSCA), "minor delays" have been reported as a result of de-icing and snow clearance. No cancellations were necessary.
Thousands stranded
At Schiphol Airport near the Dutch capital of Amsterdam, more than 1,000 passengers were stranded at the airport last night. Due to the weather, hundreds of flights have been cancelled at Schiphol in recent days.
Hundreds of people are thought to have slept at the airport on previous nights, but last night was the first time camp beds were set up. Breakfast was also provided on Wednesday morning, the airport announced.
More than 700 flights (of the approximately 1,100 flights that were scheduled) to and from Schiphol have already been cancelled on Wednesday, but that number may still rise.
In France, around 100 flights were also cancelled at Paris Airport Charles de Gaulle and approximately 40 more at Orly Airport due to the snow. French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot told CNews that he hoped the situation would "return to normal this afternoon."
People walking on slippery pavements, Tuesday 06 January 2026 in Brussels. Credit: Belga/Emile Windal
He also called for "vigilance" across "the entire country," particularly with regard to freezing rain, "which has not always been forecast and could arrive at any moment."
All buses in Paris and the Île-de-France region also gradually ceased service around 7 am and returned to their depots "for safety reasons," announced Île-de-France Mobilités (IDFM) and the Paris public transport company RATP.
Snow and ice affected northern and western France on Wednesday morning – a phenomenon "of rare magnitude in the current climate," according to Météo-France. The weather is expected to cause significant restrictions on roads and air transport.
Extended warning
In Belgium, the snow zone will move from west to east across the country over the course of Wednesday, with 3 to 6 centimetres of fresh snow – locally a few centimetres more.
A code orange warning for icy roads is in effect across the entire country, except on the coast. The Royal Meteorological Institute (RMI) is extending the warning until 7 am on Thursday morning.
In Brussels, the first snow of Wednesday arrived around 8:25 am, which caused major traffic disruptions. According to the Flemish Traffic Centre, there was almost 400 km of traffic jams on the motorways in and around Brussels at 8:45 am, which is "exceptionally high" – although this is mainly due to traffic being slowed down by snow showers.
A few more snow showers are expected at the end of Wednesday afternoon and Wednesday evening, with more wintry showers in the west. In the Ardennes, it will continue to snow (lightly) for much of the night. Icy patches will form again in several places, but the risk is lower in the west of the country due to the onset of thaw.
However, the warning for slippery conditions remains in force during the night from Wednesday to Thursday.
Update: This article was updated to include the latest information about flight delays at 2 pm.
