Amid growing criticism of how airports and other transport operators were handling the snow and ice, Siim Kallas, the commission's transport policy chief, said the European Union's executive arm may draft new rules if airport operators can't voluntarily take action to plan better for severe weather.
"I am extremely concerned about the level of disruption to travel across Europe caused by severe snow," Kallas said. "It is unacceptable and should not happen again."
Calling airports and ground handling a "weak link" in the sector, Kallas said he plans to meet with airport companies in coming days to ask for explanations and take a "hard look" at what they will do to operate more effectively in the future.
The commission's intervention comes as Western Europe's busiest airports continued to struggle with the weather conditions, with thousands more flights canceled. The Association of European Airlines, a Brussels-based trade group, said about 10,000 flights had been canceled between Friday and midday Monday, disrupting travel for about 800,000 passengers. It was unable to provide more up-to-date figures.
Further flights were canceled Tuesday at Europe's three biggest airports--London Heathrow, Paris Charles de Gaulle and Frankfurt--as well as smaller airports across the U.K. and Germany, in particular. In Ireland, Dublin airport said it was halting all flights until 1700 GMT due to ice on the runway. Weather-related problems have already cost Air France-KLM (AF.FR) between EUR25 million and EUR35 million this winter, the airline said.
Frankfurt was worst hit Tuesday as heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures severely disrupted air traffic in Germany with some flights canceled or delayed for hours. Frankfurt airport had to close for three hours in the early morning and airport operator Fraport AG (FRA.XE) said it expected about 340 of the scheduled 1,300 takeoffs and landings to be canceled. German airlines and airport operators said they were busy trying to keep runways clear of snow and de-icing aircraft and were supplying stranded passengers with drinks, snacks and accommodation.
Authorities were also trying to help relieve the situation, with the U.K. relaxing night flight restrictions and Germany considering a similar move. The U.K. government also is offering Heathrow operator BAA Airports Ltd., owned by Spain's Ferrovial SA (FER.MC), help from the British army.
However, transport operators in Western Europe were being asked why they struggled to keep networks running through sporadic snow storms when Scandinavian countries can handle much longer periods of harsh winter weather.
Experts say the certain nature of Scandinavian winters means the countries there have invested more in equipment to keep transport networks running, and airports in the region are also less busy and have more time to spend on snow clearance between flights. They also point out that Western Europe has had a couple of decades of mild winters and the weather this December has been the worst since the early 1980s.
Politicians and airports are already reacting. U.K. Transport Secretary Philip Hammond Monday asked the government's chief scientific adviser to research whether the country might expect more severe winters in coming years and whether the country should invest more in equipment to keep infrastructure running. London's Gatwick airport, which was badly hit by snow Saturday and has suffered delays and cancellations since, has said it will invest GBP8 million more on snow-clearing equipment, doubling its number of snow-clearing vehicles to 95 from 47. BAA has also pledged to spend more on snow-clearing equipment at Heathrow.
However, Kallas said airports must "get serious" about planning for this kind of severe weather.
"We have seen in recent years that snow is Western Europe is not such an exceptional circumstance. Better preparedness, in line with what is done in Northern Europe is not an optional extra, it must be planned for and with the necessary investment, particularly on the side of the airports," he said.
The continuing chaos was also affecting road and rail networks Tuesday. German rail operator Deutsche Bahn AG said it had to apply speed restrictions due to ice and its carriages were crammed as travelers unable to fly or drive to their destinations instead took the train. Trains lines in the U.K. were also hit by ice, and the Eurostar service between London and European cities including Brussels and Paris continued to suffer long delays.
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