Schiphol airport cancelled all flights between 9am and 11am and said only limited air traffic will be possible before 3pm due to bad weather.

The airport announced that a combination of strong gusts of wind, rain and poor visibility will affect airlines wanting to land and to depart. It is unclear how many flights will be affected, and one runway – the Oostbaan – is completely out of action “due to safety concerns”.

UPDATE: Strong wind, rain and poor visibility are expected on Wednesday, July 5th. The most recent weather forecast means that very limited air traffic will be possible between 09:00 and 15:00. This means there will be cancellations and delays. Read more. https://t.co/MCZOIBivx2

— Schiphol (@Schiphol) July 4, 2023

The KNMI weather institute has announced a ‘code red’ in North Holland, Friesland, Flevoland and IJsselmeergebied due to storm Poly. The rest of the country has an orange or yellow warning, and the summer storm has been described as the strongest ever measured. Some rail travellers have been stranded at Zaandam station, trees have fallen on houses and beach huts have collapsed, reports NOS.

Travellers are being advised to postpone their trip if at all possible by Rijkswaterstaat infrastructure organisation. In the worst-affected areas, gusts of wind are expected to reach 100 or 120 km per hour, or even up to 140 km over the IJsselmeer.

Some schools have told children not to come, or not to leave, until the winds die down.