Snow and ice ground flights and choke highways in parts of Europe

SCHIPHOL, Netherlands (AP) — More than 1,000 stranded passengers spent the night at Amsterdam's international airport as snow and ice that is pummeling parts of Europe grounded hundreds of flights and choked highways and railroads Wednesday.

In Paris, a skier slid along the snowy bank of the Seine river and roads and parks around the Eiffel Tower and Louvre Museum were blanketed in snow, which also snarled traffic in parts of France.

There was good news for some Berlin residents during the cold snap as power was being restored to thousands of households in the German capital that had been without electricity in freezing temperatures for four days following a suspected far-left attack on high-voltage lines, authorities said.

Schiphol Airport, on the outskirts of Amsterdam, set up hundreds of field beds overnight and served breakfast to weary travelers as staff worked to clear snow from runways and deice airplanes. At least 800 flights were canceled Wednesday at the airport, one of Europe's busiest aviation hubs.

Sonja Wurmlingel, trying to make her way home to Argentina, had to endure repeated disappointments and still was not sure how she would get back. She originally was supposed to fly via the German city of Düsseldorf, but that flight was canceled. Then she was rerouted through Paris, but that was canceled, too. The next option was taking a train to Düsseldorf.

“I’ve come from the train and they told me there’s no train,” she said, adding, after a long pause: “I don’t know.”

National airline KLM said that lines at the airport were decreasing, in part because passengers were warned on time that their flights were canceled, so they didn't head to the airport.

The Dutch rail and road networks were also hard hit by fresh snowfall during the morning rush hour and more squalls later in the day.

Rail operator NS urged travelers to “delay your journey if possible.” It warned of fewer trains operating as problems caused by the snow and icy temperatures in the Netherlands hit train travel harder than expected. Both domestic and international trains were affected, NS said.

Drivers braving the snowy conditions didn't fare much better, with more than 700 kilometers (435 miles) of traffic jams clogging the country's roads as trucks slid across highways and slow-moving snow plows cleared the roads.

France's national weather service, Meteo France, said large parts of northern and western France, including the Paris region, were on alert for snow and black ice. French authorities advised people to work from home and avoid using their cars in the snow-hit regions. Trucks and school buses were banned from using the roads. Bus traffic was suspended in Paris on Wednesday morning.

Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said that more than 100 flights were canceled Wednesday at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport and about 40 others at Paris Orly airport.

French railway company SNCF warned passengers about disruptions and delays because of weather conditions, saying that “snow on the tracks is forcing us to limit train speed and cancel trains or adjust traffic.” Eurostar trains between Paris, London and Brussels were also being delayed.

Even countries more accustomed to harsh winter weather reported problems as the snowy snap endured over large parts of Europe.

There was heavy snow in western Sweden, and authorities in Göteborg took all the city’s trams out of service Wednesday morning because of the weather, broadcaster SVT reported. Snow banks churned up by passing trams posed a risk to other traffic.

In Finland, difficulties starting diesel buses that had been standing in the cold over the holidays and poor driving conditions led to bus cancellations and delays in the Helsinki area, Finnish broadcaster Yle reported.

Corder reported from The Hague, Netherlands. Associated Press journalists around Europe contributed to this report.

A car drives carefully on a snowy street when people facing a cold wave bringing winter weather with snow and ice to the industrial Ruhr area in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

People sit on a tree branch in the snow-covered Kolomenskoye park in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

Ice builds up at a pier of Lake Balaton at Siofok, Hungary, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (Tamas Vasvari/MTI via AP)/MTI via AP)

Stranded travellers wait at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, where more than 1,000 stranded passengers spent the night as snow and ice that is pummeling parts of Europe grounded hundreds of flights and choked highways and railroads. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Stranded travellers queue at the information desk at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, where more than 1,000 people spent the night as snow and ice that is pummeling parts of Europe grounded hundreds of flights and choked highways and railroads. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

A person skies along the Seine river banks after a snowfall, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

People walk near the Eiffel Tower during a snowfall Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

An aircraft of Swiss airlines is de-iced at the airport Zurich, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (Michael Buholzer/Keystone via AP)

Cars drive through a frozen forest in the Taunus region near Frankfurt, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

A man rides a bike in an alley in Frankfurt, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday that he will allow service members to carry personal weapons onto military installations, citing the Second Amendment and recent shootings at bases across the country.

In a video posted to X, Hegseth said he is signing a memo that will direct base commanders to allow requests for troops to carry privately owned firearms “with the presumption that it is necessary for personal protection.”

He said any denial of a service member's request must be explained in detail and in writing.

“Effectively, our bases across the country were gun-free zones,” Hegseth said. "Unless you're training or unless you are a military policeman, you couldn't carry, you couldn't bring your own firearm for your own personal protection onto post."

Questions about why service members lacked access to weapons have often emerged following shootings on the nation's military bases. Such shootings have ranged from isolated events between service members to mass casualty events, such as the shootings by an Army psychiatrist at Texas’ Ford Hood in 2009 that left 13 people dead.

Hegseth cited some of the events in his video, including a shooting that injured five soldiers at Fort Stewart in Georgia last year. Officials said the shooter, an Army sergeant who worked at the base, used his personal handgun before he was tackled by fellow soldiers and arrested.

“In these instances, minutes are a lifetime,” Hegseth said. “And our service members have the courage and training to make those precious, short minutes count.”

Defense Department policy has prohibited military personnel from carrying personal weapons on base without permission from a senior commander, with strict protocol for how the firearms must be stored.

Typically, military personnel must officially check their guns out of secure storage to go to on-base hunting areas or shooting ranges, then check all firearms back in promptly after their sanctioned use. Military police are often the only armed personnel on base, outside of shooting ranges, hunting areas or in training, where soldiers can wield their service weapons without ammunition.

Tanya Schardt, senior counsel at the Brady gun violence prevention organization, said in a statement that Defense Department leaders and the military’s top brass have opposed relaxing the current policy, which was originally enacted under President George H.W. Bush.

“Our military installations are among the most guarded, protected properties in the world, and they’ve never been ‘gun-free zones,’” Schardt said. “If there is a problem with violent crime on these installations, then the Secretary of Defense has an obligation to alert the American people and describe how he’s working to prevent that crime."

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks to members of the media during a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)