Snow and ice stalled travellers in northwest Europe on Wednesday, forcing around a thousand to spend the night in Amsterdam's Schiphol airport but delighting others who set out to explore a snow-blanketed Paris on sledges and skis.
Storm Goretti blew in from the Atlantic coast and dumped heavy snow on Paris as daylight broke, prompting further flight cancellations, traffic snarls and transport disruptions after days of delays.
Meanwhile, tourists and residents enjoyed the rare sight of snow-covered Paris, with a few taking the opportunity to ski down the slopes of Montmartre and along the Champs de Mars gardens below the Eiffel Tower.
"It's exceptional, it's incredible. It's magnificent and we're enjoying it. We also came across a lot of tourists and they look so happy," said Pierre, a Parisian out admiring the snowy scenery.
People grabbed sledges or even just plastic bags to slide down any slopes they could find.
Meanwhile, more than 1,000 travellers spent the night in Schiphol airport as some 700 flights were cancelled on Wednesday, marking the sixth consecutive day of disruption at one of Europe's busiest aviation hubs.
Schiphol spokesperson Stephan Donker said it was an "exceptional situation".
The airport had set up a few hundred beds before and after security checks and provided pillows, blankets, food and drinks for travellers, he added.
Schiphol said later it expected no further cancellations on Thursday as temperatures were forecast to rise.
Dutch airline KLM said on Wednesday it had received a new supply of 100,000 litres of de-icing fluids, after warning on Tuesday that it was running low.
KLM has used around 85,000 litres every day since Friday (2 January) to remove snow and ice from aircraft before takeoff.
KLM's supplier Clariant said it was directing de-icing fluid to the airports where it was most urgently needed, even as the icy conditions hampered logistics.
"We are working around the clock to support our customers and partners...to help keep operations running as smoothly as possible in inherently unpredictable conditions," it said.
Around 100 flights were cancelled at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport and 40 at its smaller Orly airport on Wednesday morning, French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot told CNews.
Brussels' international airport and train operator Eurostar also reported cancellations and delays. Conditions spur winter shopping
Many schools in the Netherlands were shut and authorities urged people to work from home. Several districts were running low on salt and only able to clear major roads, news agency ANP reported.
France had early on Wednesday banned trucks and school buses from the roads in a third of its administrative departments, but lifted severe weather warnings for most of them later on.
Paris bus services were suspended as shops geared up for the first day of the New Year sales.
Christophe Noel, head of France's FACT industry group, said the weather was positive for winter sales.
"It will make people want to buy equipment."
In Spain, snow and cold prompted the suspension of one commuter rail line near Madrid and disrupted more than 40 roads. Passengers trapped on train in Croatia
Heavy snow and rain overnight caused travel disruption across the Western Balkans as well.
Passengers were trapped in a train for more than 12 hours in the town of Knin in northwestern Croatia after trees fell onto the tracks. Some towns in eastern Bosnia and western Serbia declared emergency situations after power and water cuts.
In Poland, schools in many regions were closed due to snow, with some switching to remote learning. In Hungary, heavy snow hit highways and delayed trains and buses on Wednesday morning.
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Several locally-developed instant messaging applications were reportedly restored in Iran on Tuesday (20 January), partially easing communications restrictions imposed after recent unrest.
There was a common theme in speeches at the World Economic Forum on Tuesday (20 January). China’s Vice-Premier, He Lifeng, warned that "tariffs and trade wars have no winners," while France's Emmanuel Macron, labelled "endless accumulation of new tariffs" from the U.S. "fundamentally unacceptable."
Dozens of beaches along Australia's east coast, including in Sydney, closed on Tuesday (20 January) after four shark attacks in two days, as heavy rains left waters murky and more likely to attract the animals.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington would “work something out” with NATO allies on Tuesday, defending his approach to the alliance while renewing his push for U.S. control of Greenland amid rising tensions with Europe.
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A railway power outage in Tokyo disrupted the morning commute for roughly 673,000 passengers on Friday (16 January) as two main lines with some of the world's busiest stations were halted after reports of a fire.
Flights have resumed at the Edinburgh airport following a period of cancellations due to an IT issue with its air traffic control provider.
China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism has issued a formal advisory urging Chinese tourists to refrain from travelling to Japan in the near future, citing growing safety risks and recent political tensions.
Brussels airport, Belgium's busiest, reopened on Wednesday morning after drone sightings during the previous night had resulted in it being temporarily closed, although some flights remained disrupted, its website said.
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