KLM Faces Winter Challenges with Declining De-Icing Fluid Supply at Schiphol
Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS) is grappling with severe winter challenges as airlines continue to cancel numerous flights daily due to adverse weather conditions.
On January 6, 2026, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines announced that ongoing snowfall and harsh winds forced the airline to cancel 600 flights scheduled for January 7, 2026.
In addition, KLM revealed that their de-icing fluid supplies were becoming critically low after being extensively utilized since January 2, 2026.
The airline’s supplier in Germany could not assure timely replenishment after the usage of approximately 85,000 liters of de-icing fluid per day for aircraft clearance.
As KLM is primarily responsible for de-icing the planes at Schiphol, they contacted their supplier and confirmed that a fresh delivery of fluid was on its way back to Amsterdam by 21:00 on January 6, 2026.
Vreselijk, al die wanhopige gestranden op Schiphol. En nergens meer een slaapplaats te krijgen.
Onderweg naar de luchthaven nu om die mensen hoop te geven. Voor €200 pp. kunnen ze kamer bij Widtvoet Airport Hotel boeken.
Hoop is belangrijk.#schiphol #sneeuw #sneeuw #schiphol pic.twitter.com/SfonnidaRc
— widtvoet (@widtvoet) January 6, 2026
Schiphol Airport has additionally indicated that only a limited number of flights will be operational on January 7, 2026. Most European flights are expected to experience significant disruptions.
“To ensure safety, over 600 flights have been canceled, and we anticipate additional cancellations,” a spokesperson for the airport stated.
According to the flight monitoring service Flightradar24, 676 flights were canceled at Schiphol on that date alone.
Including 57 cancellations reported on January 8, 2026, a total of 3,308 flights have faced delays over the past week.
Flightradar24 also identified Schiphol as the most disrupted airport of the day.
