Flights cancelled at Schiphol airport as power outage hits Amsterdam

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/27/flights-cancelled-schiphol-airport-power-outage-amsterdam

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All flights to and from Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport were cancelled after a major power outage hit large parts of the city and the surrounding province of north Holland on Friday.

An hour and a half after the outage started, the Dutch grid operator, TenneT, said power had been restored to some parts of the densely populated region.

The power failure was caused by a technical fault at a substation in the Amsterdam suburb of Diemen, it said on Twitter.

Flights to Schiphol, Europe’s fourth-largest airport, were being diverted to other regional airports, a spokeswoman said.

Frankfurt airport operator Fraport said two flights due to depart for Amsterdam were delayed until further notice. A spokesman said the operator had not yet had any requests to take diversions from Schiphol.

Public transport across the Netherlands was affected, with trains cancelled and passengers stuck in lifts, trams and subways.

Hospitals were operating on backup power, NOS public television reported.

Broadcasting from the national media centre was sporadic.