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Hundreds of flights cancelled in Paris, Amsterdam

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Buses in Paris suspended

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1,000 km of traffic jams in Paris

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Trains in Amsterdam come to a halt

(Wraps two stories to add cancellations and weather in Paris)

By Bart H. Meijer and Charlotte Van Campenhout

AMSTERDAM, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Heavy snowfall disrupted

air, road and rail travel in ‌France and the Netherlands on

Monday, as hundreds of flights were cancelled in the countries'

capitals, while trains around Amsterdam came ​to a standstill and

bus services in Paris were suspended.

Amsterdam Schiphol airport, one of Europe's ‍busiest hubs,

cancelled about 700 flights on Monday as the airport closed ⁠to

incoming traffic until ⁠1200 GMT due to the snow, a spokesperson

said. During that time, planes were diverted to other airports.

"There are long ‌lines here," a traveller stranded at

Schiphol told Dutch ​media outlet AD. "There's not too much

clarity on what is actually going to happen."

Meanwhile, France's civil aviation authority asked carriers

to reduce takeoffs and landings ⁠by 15% or roughly 30 flights at

Paris-Charles ‍de Gaulle ​and 40 flights at Paris-Orly until the

evening, according to Aeroports de Paris.

1,000 KM OF TRAFFIC JAMS IN PARIS

French transport minister Philippe Tabarot urged travellers

to check if ‍their flight was operating before leaving home, and

to use public transport to reach the airport.

He also ordered speed restrictions on roads across the

Ile-de-France region that surounds Paris of 80 km (50 miles) per

hour. State-owned RATP, which operates Paris' public

transportation, said it cancelled dozens of bus lines.

Underground and suburban trains were operating normally.

Traffic jams reached almost 1,000 km in ​total at ‍one point

on the roads of Ile-de-France, the website of the region's

prefecture showed, up from usual peaks of some 300 km.

AMSTERDAM TRAINS AT A STANDSTILL

Dutch railway ​company NS said no trains were operating in

the region around Amsterdam and public transport was severely

affected in many places. NS added that it would implement a

"winter scheme" on Tuesday, with fewer trains in service.

International train operator Eurostar said trains originally

scheduled to travel to the Netherlands would instead only run as

far as Brussels in neighboring Belgium. Eurostar train

departures from the Netherlands on Monday were cancelled.

Ice ​and snow also caused many delays and accidents on the

roads, even as authorities advised people to stay at home

whenever possible.

Further delays and disruptions are expected in the coming

days due to the ongoing winter weather.