Amsterdam airport cancels all flights after major power outage

Schiphol airport was forced to divert flights, with more travel chaos reported in the area, after a "technical fault" at a high-voltage power station just outside the Dutch capital

Schiphol airport is running on emergency power after a "technical fault" at a high-voltage power station (AFP/Getty) (AFP/Getty)

An airport in Amsterdam cancelled all flights and was forced to run on emergency power after an outage in the area

Schiphol Airport, Europe’s fourth largest, had a temporary outage before switching to its emergency power supply. In a tweet it said that air traffic had been "severely disrupted".

Power has been restored to the airport, but incoming flights were being diverted to other regional airports, with delays expected to all outbound flights, a spokeswoman told Reuters.

Frankfurt airport operator Fraport said two flights due to depart for Amsterdam were delayed until further notice.

The major power failure on Friday caused further travel chaos with no trains running in and around Amsterdam, passengers stuck in lifts, trams and subways and traffic lights affected. Hospitals are operating on backup power, NOS public television reported.

Dutch electricity network administrator Tennet says that a large part of North Holland province, which is home to some 2.7 million people, was hit by the outage.

Tennet said on its Twitter feed that the outage was caused by a “technical fault” a high-voltage power station in the town of Diemen, just outside Amsterdam.

Additional reporting by AP and Reuters