Amsterdam Schiphol Airport News

Hurricane-force winds lashed parts of northern Europe on Tuesday, including Germany and the Netherlands, causing flights to be cancelled, snarling some train services and hitting port traffic. The Dutch meteorological office issued a code red warning for the low-lying country's northern and coastal provinces, as gusts of up to 120 kilometres (75 miles) an hour battered the Netherlands. A spokesman for Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, Europe's fourth largest, said 80 flights had been cancelled because the wind had reduced runway capacity. It warned that delays would mount as flight volumes rose later in the day. At Rotterdam, Europe's largest port, two container terminals were closed, with ships forced to queue out at sea.

Forwarding company Swiss Container Line (SCL), part of the Atlantic Forwarding Group, started its own operations in Rotterdam. It concentrates on shipments between Asia and Europe. Atlantic Forwarding, with 25 branches, ships 90,000 TEU per annum between the two continents and so far Rotterdam was used for a minor percentage. For air freight SCL is going to co-operate with Cargo Masters at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, some 50 miles from Rotterdam.