Flights to and from Paris are once again under strain as wintry weather and a knock-on effect from earlier disruptions trigger a fresh wave of delays and cancellations at Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports. France’s main aviation hubs have recorded over a dozen flight cancellations and hundreds of delays across multiple carriers, including easyJet, Air France, Air Europa, United Airlines and others, leaving passengers facing long queues, missed connections and last minute itinerary changes.
A New Round of Disruptions Hits Paris Airports
On Friday 13 February 2026, disruption levels at Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) and Paris Orly (ORY) surged, with aviation claims specialist AirHelp reporting 15 cancellations and more than 100 delayed flights across the two airports. Air France was the most heavily affected operator at CDG, recording eight cancellations and over 100 delays in a single day, while other airlines, including RwandAir, Iberia and HOP, reported additional cancellations and late departures.
Although that initial spike largely involved full service carriers, low cost and long haul airlines are now being drawn into the turbulence, as aircraft and crew rotations are knocked off balance and weather conditions deteriorate over northern France. With Météo France placing much of the Île de France region under snow and ice alerts for Sunday 15 February, operators serving the Paris region are trimming schedules in advance, in an effort to keep operations manageable and safe.
For travellers, the numbers tell only part of the story. Behind each cancellation and delay is a ripple effect on onward journeys to destinations across Europe, North America and beyond. Paris functions as one of the continent’s key air traffic nodes, so even a relatively modest reduction in available slots can cascade quickly into missed connections, rerouted aircraft and congested terminals.
Weather Warnings Add Pressure to an Already Stretched System
The latest disruption comes as France braces for a winter storm system expected to hit Île de France on Sunday 15 February with snow and freezing rain. National meteorological service Météo France has placed the Paris region and several surrounding departments on orange alert for snow and ice, prompting the civil aviation authority DGAC to order pre emptive capacity reductions from the capital’s airports.
French daily Le Parisien reports that “numerous flights” are being cut from Sunday’s schedules at both Roissy Charles de Gaulle and Orly in order to guarantee safety while limiting wider disruption. Airlines have received requests to scale back their operations, particularly at peak hours, to ensure that de icing operations and runway clearing can be carried out without overloading airport infrastructure.
Weather related measures follow close on the heels of technical and staffing challenges that have affected French air traffic in recent months, including a nationwide air traffic control walkout earlier in February that grounded around 180 flights in two days. While the strike action has now ended, lingering congestion and repositioning of aircraft mean that the network is more vulnerable than usual to fresh shocks, such as the incoming winter storm.
How Major Airlines Are Affected
National carrier Air France has borne the brunt of the latest Paris disruptions so far. On Thursday 12 February alone, data compiled by industry trackers and travel media show the airline delaying more than 190 flights and cancelling at least a dozen services across its domestic and European network, including key routes to and from Paris. At CDG, the airline has reported the majority of cancellations and over 100 delays in a single day, reflecting its dominant presence at France’s largest hub.
Low cost carrier easyJet, which maintains an important presence at both Charles de Gaulle and Orly through its network of intra European routes, is also facing mounting operational challenges. Although its Paris schedules have not seen mass cancellations on the scale of Air France, rolling delays triggered by earlier congestion and the need for de icing are leading to late arrivals and departures, particularly on flights linking Paris with major cities in the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain. The airline has warned customers via its app and email alerts that winter weather across northern Europe could affect “flights to and from Paris,” encouraging passengers to arrive early and check status frequently.
Transatlantic operators have not been spared either. United Airlines, which connects Paris with major hubs in the United States, including Newark and Washington, has experienced delays as aircraft arriving from North America are held in holding patterns or slowed en route due to air traffic flow management around French airspace. Although most long haul services are still operating, late arrivals into Paris can translate into missed domestic or European connections, forcing many passengers to rebook onto later Air France or partner airline flights.
Spanish carrier Air Europa, which serves Paris from Madrid and other Iberian gateways, faces a twofold challenge. Disruptions in France are overlapping with weather and operational issues at Spanish airports, where separate reports highlight more than a hundred cancellations and thousands of delays in recent days. For travellers routing between Spain and the rest of Europe via Paris, this double layer of uncertainty significantly raises the risk of extended delays.
Knock On Effects Across the European Network
The problems at Paris are reverberating well beyond French borders. Air traffic through French airspace is among the densest in Europe, and any constraint at Charles de Gaulle or Orly can quickly impact schedules in neighbouring countries. Recent tracking data has already shown delays rippling through airports in Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands and the Nordic region as aircraft depart late from or arrive late into Paris, upsetting carefully timed rotations.
Amsterdam Schiphol, for example, has in the past week recorded more than a hundred delays and several cancellations in a single day, affecting flights operated by KLM, Transavia, easyJet, British Airways, Emirates and others. Many of those services connect to or overfly French airspace, making them vulnerable to even modest slowdowns caused by weather management and reduced arrival and departure rates around Paris.
Similarly, reports from Spanish airports in Barcelona, Madrid and Palma de Mallorca show waves of delays and cancellations that correspond closely with periods of French air traffic disruption. With carriers such as Ryanair, Vueling and Iberia operating dense short haul networks that intersect over France, restrictions at Paris and other French control sectors can lead to holding patterns, reroutings and congested taxiways across a wide swathe of Europe.
What Passengers Flying Via Paris Need to Know Right Now
For travellers booked to fly to, from or through Paris in the coming days, the primary message is to stay informed and be prepared for plans to change at short notice. Airlines are urging passengers to monitor their flight status on official websites and mobile apps before leaving for the airport, and to enable push notifications, SMS and email alerts for real time updates on delays, gate changes and rebooking options.
Several carriers, including Air France, easyJet and KLM, have activated flexible rebooking policies around the expected snowfalls. KLM has already advised that some of its flights to, from or via Paris Charles de Gaulle and Orly on Sunday 15 February “may be disrupted” and is offering affected customers the option to change travel dates without penalty or to request refunds under specific conditions. Similar measures are being rolled out by other airlines as forecasts are updated.
Passengers holding separate tickets for connecting flights should exercise particular caution. If your onward leg is booked on a separate reservation, you may not be automatically reprotected in the event of a missed connection caused by a delay arriving into Paris. In such cases, allowing longer connection times, considering an overnight stay in Paris, or consolidating your itinerary on a single ticket with one airline group can reduce the risk of being stranded midway through your journey.
Your Rights When Flights Are Delayed or Cancelled in France
Under current European regulations, passengers whose flights are delayed by more than two hours or cancelled outright are entitled to certain forms of assistance from their airline, including meals, refreshments and, where necessary, overnight accommodation. For longer delays or cancellations, compensation payments may also be owed, depending on the distance of the flight and the specific circumstances of the disruption.
In general, travellers may be eligible for cash compensation when delays exceed three hours on arrival and are not caused by what regulators define as “extraordinary circumstances.” Such circumstances can include severe weather conditions, air traffic control restrictions or security incidents beyond the airline’s control. In those cases, passengers are still entitled to care, but compensation may not be payable.
Rules are in the process of evolving. New European legislation agreed in 2025 is set to adjust compensation thresholds and amounts, lowering the maximum payment but raising some mid range compensation levels and increasing the qualifying delay for compensation from three to four hours. In France, procedural changes taking effect in February 2026 will require passengers who wish to take airlines to court over compensation to first go through a tourism and travel mediator, and then file individual legal summons, a process that may be more time consuming and costly than in the past.
For now, consumer advocates advise passengers affected by the Paris disruptions to keep all boarding passes, booking confirmations and receipts, to submit written claims directly to the airline in the first instance, and to use specialised claims agencies or national civil aviation authorities only if direct negotiations fail.
Practical Tips for Navigating Paris Airport Disruptions
Anyone travelling through Charles de Gaulle or Orly over the weekend and early next week should build extra margin into their plans. That means arriving at the airport earlier than usual, particularly for morning departures when de icing operations and runway inspections may lengthen ground handling times. Travellers should also factor in possible delays on the ground transport networks serving the airports, as snow and ice can slow road and rail links into the city.
Carrying essential items in your hand luggage is more important than ever when disruption looms. Medications, chargers, a change of clothes, basic toiletries, important documents and any items needed for children should be packed in cabin bags in case checked baggage is delayed or you are unexpectedly rerouted via another airport. Portable battery packs can be invaluable during long waits in crowded terminals where power outlets are in high demand.
For those facing long delays or overnight stays, exploring alternative transport options can sometimes be a viable solution. High speed rail connections link Paris with major cities such as Lyon, Brussels, London, Amsterdam and Frankfurt, and in some cases airlines will endorse tickets onto rail services if flight operations are heavily curtailed. Even when that is not offered, independently booking a train can be quicker and less stressful than waiting for a heavily oversubscribed standby list to clear.
Finally, patience and flexibility remain essential. Airport staff, flight crews and ground handlers are themselves operating under considerable pressure during major disruption events. Clear communication, a willingness to consider alternative routings and an understanding of the safety imperatives behind weather related restrictions can go a long way towards easing what is, for many travellers, an inevitably stressful experience.
Outlook: How Long Will the Disruption Last?
Forecasters expect the most intense phase of the snow and ice episode over Île de France to pass within 24 to 36 hours, meaning the worst of the weather related disruption at Paris airports should ease early in the week of 16 February. However, schedules may remain fragile for several days afterward as airlines reposition aircraft, clear backlogs and accommodate passengers who were unable to travel as planned.
Travel industry analysts note that the European air network is already operating near capacity during busy periods, leaving limited slack to absorb shocks such as winter storms or industrial action. In France, the impact is often amplified by the country’s central role in air traffic flows and by periodic strains within the air traffic control system. Further bouts of disruption later in the winter cannot be ruled out if additional storms or labour disputes emerge.
For now, travellers with imminent plans involving Paris are urged to keep a close watch on forecasts and airline alerts, to consider flexible tickets where possible, and to maintain realistic expectations about journey times. While the vast majority of flights are still expected to operate, the cumulative effect of more than a dozen cancellations and hundreds of delays means that a smooth, perfectly punctual trip through Paris over the coming days will be more the exception than the rule.