Wind speed reaching 146 km/h caused the temporary closure of Amsterdam Schiphol
Hundreds of flights have been cancelled at Schiphol airport after the Netherlands’ strongest summer storm on record slammed into the Dutch coast.
The high winds, heavy rain and poor visibility led to the cancellation of about 400 flights at Schiphol airport, one of Europe’s busiest travel hubs.
Schiphol Airport said there would be “very limited air traffic” for both incoming and departing flights until at least 4pm local time.
“At the moment, 400 flights have been cancelled,” a Schiphol spokesperson said.
Eventjes deze @KLM wide-body extreem laag met code rood over Amsterdam laten landen 😶 pic.twitter.com/LwUhSq1O1u
— dem ◢╣ ◣⎝ ⑊⏢⊪⍫ ⃤ (@mastic78) July 5, 2023
All trains to Schiphol were also halted, causing further disruption for air travellers.
Winds of force 11, the second highest on the scale, were measured in the northern port of IJmuiden, making it the “first very severe summer storm ever measured” in the country, Dutch weather service Weerplaza said.
A gust of 146kph measured in IJmuiden was also the strongest ever recorded in the summer in the Netherlands and its strongest overall since January 2018, weather agency Weeronline said.
