Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport was temporarily closed early on Sunday as a large power outage hit all operations at one of Europe’s busiest airports.
Authorities closed off roads to Schiphol and stopped train traffic to the airport around 0300 GMT to “ensure the safety of travelers”, the airport said, as check-in procedures had become impossible and the airport’s main halls overflowed with waiting passengers.
At 4.20am the airport advised passengers to leave the airport while it tried to restore check-in and paused all incoming flights until 9am.
The delays have caused long queues on roads into the airport as well, with traffic officials warning anyone coming by car or bus to leave plenty of time.
Schiphol is the third-busiest airport in Europe in numbers of travelers, after London Heathrow and Paris Charles de Gaulle.