180 flights canceled at Amsterdam airport by fuel

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You packed, fought for traffic both on the road and in the security line at the airport just to find out that your plane is interrupted. It happens more often at some airports. Buzz60's Sean Dowling has more.
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THE HAGUE, The Netherlands – Thousands of passengers flying to and from Amsterdam's Schiphol airport received delays and canceled flights on Wednesday due to problems with aircraft refueling which curled the busy European airline center for several hours.

Spokeswoman for airport Willemeike Koster said 180 flights were canceled at the airport just outside Amsterdam, and stranded passengers at Schiphol and other airports. Field beds were set up at the airport as a pre-regulation in case passengers were forced to wait overnight on flights, Koster told The Associated Press.

It was not clear how many passengers were affected by the delays and cancellations, but Koster said the number ran into thousands.

More: EasyJet, KLM investigator after plane collapsed into Amsterdam

People are waiting in the departure hall of the airport Amsterdam-Schiphol, southwest of Amsterdam, as a problem with refueling grounded several dozen planes and hundreds of passengers on July 24, 2019. (Photo: RAMON VAN FLYMEN, AFP / Getty Images

The problem began early in the afternoon and finally became fixed hours later. Schiphol announced around noon. (2000 GMT) that the fuel delivery system had restarted. Spokeswoman Madelon van der Hof said the aircraft was being refueled and departing as the airport gradually returned to normal operation.

Earlier, the airport said that a company that supplies fuel to aircraft at the airport had "a fault in their system. That means aircraft cannot be refueled right now, causing delays."

Schiphol warned earlier that The problem may be deep in the evening and said it regretted the inconvenience of travelers and airlines.

The exact nature of the problem was not immediately apparent.

Before the system was restarted, only a third of the usual number of flights arrived at Schiphol on Wednesday night, Koster said. Even fewer went.

"If they have enough fuel, they can go," said Koster. "There are aircraft departing, but it is at a minimum level."

The Dutch airline KLM said it was possible flights would also be canceled due to a "step-by-step" start of operations at the airport.

The problem came in the busy summer holidays in the Netherlands, and on a day where a heat wave set a record high temperature. The Dutch weather service Weerplaza said the southern city of Eindhoven reported a temperature of 39.3 C (102.7 F), the hottest day in the country of 75 years.

Airport spokesman Hans van Kastel told the Dutch broadcaster NOS that the fuel problem was not & # 39; It is believed to be linked to the hot weather.