Dutch airline running out of de-icing fluid amid cold-weather cancellations

Dutch airline KLM is facing a critical shortage of de-icing fluid at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, a situation that has contributed to thousands of flight cancellations over the past five days.

The carrier, which operates its main hub from Schiphol, confirmed on Tuesday that its 25 de-icing trucks have been in constant operation, consuming approximately 85,000 litres daily of the heated water and glycol mixture essential for clearing aircraft before take-off.

"Since Friday KLM has been de-icing aircraft at Schiphol around the clock using de-icing fluid delivered daily," the Dutch arm of Air France-KLM stated. "Due to a combination of extreme weather conditions and delays in supply from the provider, stock levels are running low. This challenge is currently widespread across Europe."

KLM has dispatched employees to its supplier in Germany in an urgent bid to secure additional de-icing fluid, though it could not provide a specific timeframe for when supplies might be replenished.

"We are doing everything we can to prevent it," said KLM spokesperson Anoesjka Aspeslagh.

The airline cancelled at least 300 flights to and from Amsterdam on Tuesday, where it is the largest operator. Meanwhile, Schiphol Airport clarified that it maintains ample supplies of a different de-icing fluid used for its runways.

Severe winter conditions, including heavy snowfall and strong winds, are forecast to persist across the Netherlands in the coming days.

Dozens of flights between the Dutch hub and UK airports on KLM are once again cancelled – including services to and from Aberdeen, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Heathrow, Humberside, Inverness, Leeds Bradford, London City, Manchester, Newcastle, Norwich and Teesside.

The flight-tracking website Flightradar24 calculates that one-third of Amsterdam’s flights have been cancelled on Tuesday. It adds: “That figure is expected to rise to 50-60 per cent throughout the day.”

Already, 171 flights scheduled for Wednesday have been grounded. In total, since last Friday, around 2,500 flights have been cancelled – affecting at least one-third of a million passengers.

The Dutch airline is telling passengers: “Due to severe winter weather, including snow and strong winds, flights at Amsterdam airport Schiphol are disrupted. We understand this may be stressful, but we are doing all we can to help you on your way again.”