Snow causes chaos at Paris airport

Flights returning to normal after hundreds of passengers were stranded at Charles de Gaulle airport due to bad weather.

FLIGHTS are returning to normal at Charles de Gaulle airport after heavy snow left hundreds of passengers stranded last night.

Between 20% to 30% of flights were cancelled, creating long queues at check-in desks and leaving some passengers forced to sleep on benches.

Air France had to cancel 150 of the 400 flights scheduled from the beginning of yesterday afternoon.

At around 22.00 several hundred passengers were still left at the airport.

Travellers stuck in waiting areas said there was no answer from a helpline number given out by Air France.

The airline said 2,000 people had been accommodated in hotels around the airport or in Paris. They added that there was not enough capacity to accommodate everyone in such unexpected circumstances, which they added was regretful.

Blankets and food were distributed to passengers and the airline said they were doing all they could to minimise the problem.

A spokesperson for Air France added that from today they would try to ensure all passengers reached their destination, diverting them through other airports such as Amsterdam.

Air France also said although there were some delays today traffic was returning to normal and there were no foreseen cancellations.