Air France KLM Cargo has warned that its operations out of Schiphol are facing delays and cancellations due to heavy snow and wintry weather in the area.
In a note to customers, the Franco-Dutch airline group said that it had implemented restrictions on certain cargo types in order to mitigate the impact of the winter weather.
The restrictions include reduced free sales for flights departing from Amsterdam on services up to and including 11 January and no acceptance of many special product types, such as live animals and temperature-controlled, from Amsterdam until January 11.
Meanwhile, sister company Martinair said freighter flights are subject to schedule changes and delays.
“Over the past few days, winter weather conditions at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport have significantly deteriorated,” the airline group said.
“Adverse weather, including snow and icy conditions, has had a severe impact on both flight and ground operations. Current forecasts indicate that these challenging conditions are expected to continue over the coming days.
”As a result, operations are experiencing flight cancellations and significant delays. The safety of our employees, partners, and operations remains our top priority at all times.”
Partner airline Delta is also affected. The US carrier’s cargo business said that an import restriction has been implemented for select Delta Cargo products.
This includes Specialized Fresh, Specialized Pharma, Specialized Live, Specialized Safe, Specialized Care, and Express Critical Shipments.
”The restriction timeframe has been extended and is expected to remain in place through 11 January,” Delta said. “This timeframe is subject to change based on operational conditions.
“Delta Cargo will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as new information becomes available.”
The wintry weather conditions started a week ago and has resulted in thousands of flight cancellations. KLM has been operating larger aircraft on certain routes in order to transport passengers.
Earlier today, the carrier said that so far, around 300,000 travellers have been unable to continue their journeys as planned. The airline has also faced a shortage of de-icer.