A fast-moving winter storm swept across northern France on the morning of 15 February 2026, pushing the French Civil Aviation Authority (DGAC) to order airlines operating at Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle (CDG) and Paris-Orly (ORY) to slash their schedules.
Between 07:00 and 16:00 at CDG and 06:00 and 14:00 at ORY, carriers had to cancel roughly a third and a fifth of services respectively, chiefly on short- and medium-haul routes. The preventative cuts are designed to avoid gridlock on the aprons while every departing aircraft undergoes de-icing— procedures that can add 20-40 minutes to a turnaround. The Île-de-France region was simultaneously placed on an orange (second-highest) Météo-France alert for snow and ice, with accumulations of 1–3 cm expected and up to 5 cm in Yvelines and Seine-et-Marne.
The disruption is being felt well beyond the capital.
![Snowstorm forces 30 % flight cuts at Paris-CDG and 20 % at Orly]()
For international travellers suddenly forced to rebook, making sure their paperwork still aligns with the new itinerary can be an extra headache. VisaHQ’s France portal (https://www.visahq.com/france/) allows passengers to verify visa requirements, request extensions or arrange expedited applications in a few clicks, offering welcome peace of mind while transport operators juggle weather-related changes.
Flights linking Nice, Toulouse and Lyon with Paris were among the first to be pulled, while regional prefectures imposed reduced motorway speed limits and overtaking bans for heavy goods vehicles. SNCF kept its long-distance timetable intact but warned that further snowfall could hamper suburban buses and surface trams.
Travellers whose flights are scrubbed can invoke EU Regulation 261/2004 for rerouting or refunds, although weather is deemed an “extraordinary circumstance,” removing the right to financial compensation. Since 7 February, French legislation also obliges passengers to attempt mediation before filing a court claim, a move designed to unclog small-claims tribunals.
Airports operator Groupe ADP said it hopes the pre-emptive cancellations will prevent a repeat of the 40 % cut at CDG and 25 % at ORY during the early-January storm. Forecasters expect temperatures to rise above freezing by late afternoon, allowing rain to melt remaining snow and paving the way for a gradual resumption of normal operations overnight.
Between 07:00 and 16:00 at CDG and 06:00 and 14:00 at ORY, carriers had to cancel roughly a third and a fifth of services respectively, chiefly on short- and medium-haul routes. The preventative cuts are designed to avoid gridlock on the aprons while every departing aircraft undergoes de-icing— procedures that can add 20-40 minutes to a turnaround. The Île-de-France region was simultaneously placed on an orange (second-highest) Météo-France alert for snow and ice, with accumulations of 1–3 cm expected and up to 5 cm in Yvelines and Seine-et-Marne.
The disruption is being felt well beyond the capital.
For international travellers suddenly forced to rebook, making sure their paperwork still aligns with the new itinerary can be an extra headache. VisaHQ’s France portal (https://www.visahq.com/france/) allows passengers to verify visa requirements, request extensions or arrange expedited applications in a few clicks, offering welcome peace of mind while transport operators juggle weather-related changes.
Flights linking Nice, Toulouse and Lyon with Paris were among the first to be pulled, while regional prefectures imposed reduced motorway speed limits and overtaking bans for heavy goods vehicles. SNCF kept its long-distance timetable intact but warned that further snowfall could hamper suburban buses and surface trams.
Travellers whose flights are scrubbed can invoke EU Regulation 261/2004 for rerouting or refunds, although weather is deemed an “extraordinary circumstance,” removing the right to financial compensation. Since 7 February, French legislation also obliges passengers to attempt mediation before filing a court claim, a move designed to unclog small-claims tribunals.
Airports operator Groupe ADP said it hopes the pre-emptive cancellations will prevent a repeat of the 40 % cut at CDG and 25 % at ORY during the early-January storm. Forecasters expect temperatures to rise above freezing by late afternoon, allowing rain to melt remaining snow and paving the way for a gradual resumption of normal operations overnight.
