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Christmas Travelers Snowed Under in Europe

   VOA News 24 December 2010
   Passengers wait for their flights in a terminal after sleeping a night
   at the Charles-de-Gaulle Roissy airport, Paris, 24 Dec 2010

Photo: AP

   Passengers wait for their flights in a terminal after sleeping a night
   at the Charles-de-Gaulle Roissy airport, Paris, 24 Dec 2010

   Last-minute   Christmas   travelers  around  Europe  found  themselves
   sleeping  on  cots  or on the floor of crowded airports as heavy snows
   and ice forced airlines to ground their planes.
   In  Paris,  a  shortage  of de-icing fluid, used to clear airplanes of
   ice,  and  more  snow  meant that on Friday, at least 400 flights were
   grounded.  The  airport  is  already dealing with a backlog of flights
   after days of winter-related delays.
   Stranded  passengers  at  one of Paris' main Charles de Gaulle airport
   terminals  woke  up  Friday  only  to be rushed to another part of the
   airport as heavy snows threatened the roof.
   In  2004, a roof at the same terminal collapsed and killed four people
   in an avalanche of glass, steel and concrete.
   Blinding  snow  in  Ireland stranded some 40,000 travelers at the main
   Dublin  airport,  and  similar  conditions  in  Germany  shut down its
   Dusseldorf  airport.  Fresh  snowfall  also disrupted flights and road
   travel in Brussels.
   Most Europeans traditionally celebrate Christmas Eve, December 24.

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