A brutal Arctic front sent temperatures plunging to –22 °C in central Poland on 26 January 2026, forcing Warsaw Chopin Airport to throttle runway movements and triggering hours-long delays across Europe’s corporate-travel network. According to passenger-rights specialist AirHelp, the airport’s single operational runway (the parallel strip is closed for lighting upgrades) could handle barely half its usual capacity as de-icing crews struggled to keep pace.
Flag-carrier LOT pre-emptively cancelled nine domestic rotations and delayed 18 intra-European services, while Wizz Air and Ryanair warned of rolling three-hour holdups. Rail operators recorded a spike in last-minute first-class bookings as multinationals rerouted executives to Berlin and Kraków. Freight forwarders reported temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals and auto components stuck in belly-hold warehouses, underscoring supply-chain knock-on effects when Poland’s busiest hub slows down.
![Arctic Cold Snap Disrupts Business Travel at Warsaw Chopin Airport]()
For international travellers suddenly rerouted through alternative hubs or forced into unexpected stopovers, keeping travel documents in order is another headache. VisaHQ’s Poland portal (https://www.visahq.com/poland/) lets mobility teams and individual passengers check real-time visa requirements and arrange express processing for transit or short-stay permits, ensuring that paperwork doesn’t compound the weather-induced disruption.
Under EU 261 rules, airlines need not pay cash compensation for weather-related disruption, but they must still provide meals, refreshments and—if the delay surpasses overnight cut-offs—hotel rooms. Mobility managers are therefore urged to audit vendor contracts to ensure carriers fulfill care obligations, especially for assignees lacking local language skills.
With sub-zero temperatures forecast to persist, employers should advise travellers to build generous buffers into itineraries, use the airport’s live-status app and keep boarding passes for any later compensation claims. Remote-first meeting policies and contingency rail tickets remain best practice during Poland’s peak-winter volatility.
Flag-carrier LOT pre-emptively cancelled nine domestic rotations and delayed 18 intra-European services, while Wizz Air and Ryanair warned of rolling three-hour holdups. Rail operators recorded a spike in last-minute first-class bookings as multinationals rerouted executives to Berlin and Kraków. Freight forwarders reported temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals and auto components stuck in belly-hold warehouses, underscoring supply-chain knock-on effects when Poland’s busiest hub slows down.
For international travellers suddenly rerouted through alternative hubs or forced into unexpected stopovers, keeping travel documents in order is another headache. VisaHQ’s Poland portal (https://www.visahq.com/poland/) lets mobility teams and individual passengers check real-time visa requirements and arrange express processing for transit or short-stay permits, ensuring that paperwork doesn’t compound the weather-induced disruption.
Under EU 261 rules, airlines need not pay cash compensation for weather-related disruption, but they must still provide meals, refreshments and—if the delay surpasses overnight cut-offs—hotel rooms. Mobility managers are therefore urged to audit vendor contracts to ensure carriers fulfill care obligations, especially for assignees lacking local language skills.
With sub-zero temperatures forecast to persist, employers should advise travellers to build generous buffers into itineraries, use the airport’s live-status app and keep boarding passes for any later compensation claims. Remote-first meeting policies and contingency rail tickets remain best practice during Poland’s peak-winter volatility.
