Storm Goretti’s sweep through France, the Benelux and Germany on 6–7 January sent shockwaves through European aviation that were keenly felt in Poland. As Amsterdam’s Schiphol cancelled roughly 700 flights and bedded down 1 000 stranded travellers overnight, knock-on effects hit Warsaw Chopin, Kraków Balice and regional Polish airports. According to flight-tracking data referenced by Reuters, Chopin logged six cancellations and more than 230 delays on 7 January, while Kraków saw eight cancellations and 45 delays.([reuters.com](https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/western-europe-braces-another-wave-snow-ice-2026-01-07/))
The bottleneck was partly fuelled by de-icing-fluid shortages at key hubs—KLM alone burned through 85 000 litres a day—forcing aircraft rotations to slip and crew duty times to expire. Polish flag carrier LOT diverted two inbound Boeing 737 MAX services to Katowice and Poznań late on 7 January, bussing passengers onwards to their final destinations. Rail links also felt the strain: PKP Intercity reported delays of up to 90 minutes on services connecting the capital with Gdańsk and Wrocław, while the S7 expressway north of Warsaw moved at a crawl under fresh snowfall.
For business travellers the disruption landed during the first full work-week of the year, derailing sales meetings, plant visits and relocation trips timed to coincide with the new immigration rules that took effect on 1 January. Travel managers scrambled to re-book staff through Scandinavian hubs less affected by the weather, though icy conditions in Copenhagen and Stockholm offered limited relief.
![Snowstorm across northwest Europe ripples into Poland, triggering hundreds of flight delays at Warsaw and Kraków]()
Amid such turbulence, travellers are discovering that having paperwork sorted in advance can be as critical as a re-routed ticket. VisaHQ’s Poland portal (https://www.visahq.com/poland/) lets passengers secure the visas they need for Schengen or onward destinations entirely online, track application status in real time, and receive expert guidance—saving precious hours when weather throws schedules into chaos.
Airports and airlines are cautiously optimistic that milder temperatures forecast for 9 January will restore regular schedules, but they warn that de-icing fluid inventories remain tight and any new cold snap could reignite the crisis. Passengers heading to or from Poland this week are advised to build generous buffers into itineraries and to check whether their travel insurance covers overnight accommodation in the event of weather-related delays.
Longer-term, the episode has revived debate about the resilience of Europe’s hub-and-spoke network in an era of more frequent extreme-weather events. Polish aviation authorities say they will review fluid stockpiles and contingency plans before the next Arctic front arrives.
The bottleneck was partly fuelled by de-icing-fluid shortages at key hubs—KLM alone burned through 85 000 litres a day—forcing aircraft rotations to slip and crew duty times to expire. Polish flag carrier LOT diverted two inbound Boeing 737 MAX services to Katowice and Poznań late on 7 January, bussing passengers onwards to their final destinations. Rail links also felt the strain: PKP Intercity reported delays of up to 90 minutes on services connecting the capital with Gdańsk and Wrocław, while the S7 expressway north of Warsaw moved at a crawl under fresh snowfall.
For business travellers the disruption landed during the first full work-week of the year, derailing sales meetings, plant visits and relocation trips timed to coincide with the new immigration rules that took effect on 1 January. Travel managers scrambled to re-book staff through Scandinavian hubs less affected by the weather, though icy conditions in Copenhagen and Stockholm offered limited relief.
Amid such turbulence, travellers are discovering that having paperwork sorted in advance can be as critical as a re-routed ticket. VisaHQ’s Poland portal (https://www.visahq.com/poland/) lets passengers secure the visas they need for Schengen or onward destinations entirely online, track application status in real time, and receive expert guidance—saving precious hours when weather throws schedules into chaos.
Airports and airlines are cautiously optimistic that milder temperatures forecast for 9 January will restore regular schedules, but they warn that de-icing fluid inventories remain tight and any new cold snap could reignite the crisis. Passengers heading to or from Poland this week are advised to build generous buffers into itineraries and to check whether their travel insurance covers overnight accommodation in the event of weather-related delays.
Longer-term, the episode has revived debate about the resilience of Europe’s hub-and-spoke network in an era of more frequent extreme-weather events. Polish aviation authorities say they will review fluid stockpiles and contingency plans before the next Arctic front arrives.
