Severe storms sweeping Western Europe on 27 October forced Air France and British Airways to cancel at least 11 flights, including services linking Paris, Amsterdam and London with Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Travel And Tour World reports that hundreds of passengers were left overnight in terminals as aircraft were unable to reposition, triggering knock-on crew-duty-time issues.
Operational data from Eurocontrol showed wind-shear alerts and low-visibility minima at Charles de Gaulle and Schiphol, leading to airport-capacity reductions of up to 40 percent. Because many UAE-bound flights depart Europe in late afternoon for overnight arrivals, the cancellations disrupted both inbound tourists and business travellers heading for quarter-end meetings in Dubai.
Airlines offered rebooking within 72 hours or refunds, but accommodation options were stretched as the weather system affected multiple hubs simultaneously. Travel-managers with travellers stuck in transit should advise them to keep receipts; EU Regulation 261 compensation may apply if weather was not the sole cause of the disruption.
The incident underscores the importance for companies of monitoring multi-hub routings to the Gulf and having contingency plans, such as rerouting via Istanbul or Doha, when Western European hubs become saturated.
Operational data from Eurocontrol showed wind-shear alerts and low-visibility minima at Charles de Gaulle and Schiphol, leading to airport-capacity reductions of up to 40 percent. Because many UAE-bound flights depart Europe in late afternoon for overnight arrivals, the cancellations disrupted both inbound tourists and business travellers heading for quarter-end meetings in Dubai.
Airlines offered rebooking within 72 hours or refunds, but accommodation options were stretched as the weather system affected multiple hubs simultaneously. Travel-managers with travellers stuck in transit should advise them to keep receipts; EU Regulation 261 compensation may apply if weather was not the sole cause of the disruption.
The incident underscores the importance for companies of monitoring multi-hub routings to the Gulf and having contingency plans, such as rerouting via Istanbul or Doha, when Western European hubs become saturated.
