Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport cancelled and delayed dozens of flights on Monday following further snow showers, hitting thousands of families heading away or back home for the holidays.

Many flights, mainly within Europe, are being delayed for up to two hours, the airport authority said. The airport is advising travellers to contact their airline for more information because of website problems.
It is also extremely difficult to reach Schiphol because of the shortage of train and bus services, Nos tv reported.
And with more snow expected in the late afternoon, Dutch Rail has called on commuters to stagger their journeys home by leaving earlier and later in the day. ‘Ask your employer if this is possible,’ a spokeswoman told Nos tv.
Very limited stop train services are operating in much of the country because of the snow. All intercity trains have been cancelled. According to the Telegraaf, many of the problems have been caused by so-called maintenance-free points freezing up.
Holiday misery
International train services have been hard hit, with many services cancelled and passengers complaining about a lack of information. ‘We still don’t know if our train will leave tonight or if we will have to stay here for Christmas,’ one holidaymaker told DutchNews.nl.
Bus and tram services were heavily disrupted in the early morning rush hour and further delays are expected this evening. In Groningen, Labour party councillors have attacked the decision to suspend services over the weekend, prompting a war of words with local bus firm Connexxion.
White Christmas
With more snow expected overnight, and temperatures remaining around freezing, the KNMI weather bureau said a white Christmas will be a fact for much of the country.
In the Netherlands, a Christmas is officially considered white if snow falls at the Bilt weather station on both December 25 and 26. The last official white Christmas in the Netherlands was in 1981.