Storm Austen forces flight cancellations and diversions across Western Europe

Storm Austen disrupted air travel across Western Europe on Friday, 23 October, forcing cancellations in the Channel Islands, France and the Netherlands, while flights bound for Paris and Brussels were diverted to alternative airports.

The disruption varied considerably between airports. Channel Island services were particularly badly affected, while larger hubs continued operating with adjustments. No consolidated Europe-wide cancellation total was available in the reports reviewed.

Channel Islands and French airports hit

Jersey recorded 41 cancelled flight movements on Friday—22 departures and 19 arrivals—according to an assessment of the airport’s published flight boards by aviation publication Aerosillage. Guernsey also experienced extensive disruption, with operations resuming on Saturday. Jersey authorities had issued a red wind warning ahead of the storm, forecasting gusts of approximately 61–70 knots.

In western France, the same assessment recorded 11 cancelled movements at Brest and three at Caen, while Transavia departures from Nantes were also affected. These airport-level figures represent individual arrivals and departures, rather than return journeys, and are not a comprehensive regional total.

Paris Charles de Gaulle experienced diversions as the weather crossed northern France. French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot reported aircraft being redirected to Paris Orly, with further diversions to other airports anticipated. Reuters

Brussels receives diverted aircraft

Brussels Airport both received diverted flights and lost an incoming service to another airport. A Brussels Airlines flight from Marseille diverted to Amsterdam Schiphol, while several aircraft originally bound for French airports landed at Zaventem instead, according to airport spokeswoman Ihsane Chioua Lekhli, quoted in reporting sourced to HLN.

The available reporting does not establish a storm-related cancellation total for Brussels Airport or Brussels South Charleroi. Diversions should therefore be distinguished from cancellations, and the disruption should not be interpreted as a general closure of Belgian airports.

KLM cuts flights as unsettled weather continues

KLM cancelled 20 flights on Friday and announced a further 22 cancellations for Saturday because of strong winds in the Netherlands, an airline spokesperson told Reuters. Schiphol nevertheless reported limited overall disruption at the time, with no other airlines cancelling flights for the same weather conditions.

The difficult conditions were not confined to the airfield: disrupted rail services, fallen trees and road restrictions also complicated journeys to airports. A second storm, Boelo, was forecast to affect Northern Ireland, Scotland and parts of northern England over the weekend, creating a further risk of disruption as airlines worked to restore their schedules.

Sources: Reuters, aerosillage.com, Zaventem.me