Some 600 flights have now been cancelled at Schiphol airport and people whose flights are no longer going ahead are being urged to leave the building, broadcaster NOS reported on Tuesday afternoon.

Tannoy announcements at the airport have called on people to leave because of overcrowding, but an NOS reporter at the scene said few people appear to be heeding the request.

Thousands of people have been stranded at the airport because of the ice and snow, and airline KLM warned on Tuesday that it is now in danger of running out of de-icer, which could make the situation worse.

Over the past few days, 85,000 litres of the water and glycol mix have been used per day to keep the aircraft free of ice.

“The combination of extreme weather and a halt to supplies means the end of our stockpile is now in sight,” the airline said in a press release. “KLM is doing everything possible to secure additional supplies and … will collect the fluid itself in Germany.”

One hundred people are constantly busy de-icing aircraft, KLM said. On Monday 800 out of 1,200 flights were scrapped.

Weather forecasters say strong winds will batter the Netherlands overnight, bringing between three and seven centimetres of snow to much of the country.

The transport ministry’s roads department has urged people to work at home on Wednesday, saying the morning rush hour could be very busy given that more snow is expected.

On Tuesday train services were halted for a time and there were no buses in Utrecht all day. Train services around Amsterdam were still severely restricted because of problems with the points by late afternoon.