Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport is putting up camp beds in departure lounges to cope with the hundreds of passengers who are expected to spend the night waiting for flights.

The airport authority has called on all passengers not to come to the airport because almost all flights to European destinations have been cancelled because of the snow.
According to the KNMI weather bureau, a further 10 cm will fall in Noord and Zuid-Holland on Friday night. The bureau has issued a severe weather alarm.
Stranded
The Telegraaf, it is particularly busy at Schiphol because problems on the roads and railways mean travellers are not able to return home.
Extra personnel have been brought in to cope with the influx of stranded passengers. ‘It is full, but not chaotic,’ a spokeswoman told the paper.
The effect of the cancellations will also be felt on Saturday, the spokeswoman said.

Railways
Dutch Rail is calling on travellers not to use trains in the central urban belt unless absolutely necessary because of problems caused by the severe weather.
Passengers in other parts of the country are being warned to expect long delays.

Roads
By 19.00 hours, the motoring organisation ANWB reported a very slight easing of problems on the roads. The jams totalled 753 km by 17.00, making Friday the sixth busiest rush hour of all time.
The problems are particularly serious around Amsterdam where the ring road was closed for a time, around Utrecht and throughout Noord-Holland.
In some places, the roads had turned into ice rinks, the ANWB said.

For a European weather round up, click here