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A spell of freezing weather bringing heavy snowfall and ice has caused transport disruption across western Europe.

Hundreds of flights have been cancelled at several airports, while Eurostar services and haulage have also been affected.

More than 700 flights were cancelled at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, a major regional transport hub, on Wednesday. Meanwhile, France’s civil aviation authority has asked airlines to cut 40% of flights scheduled for the main international airport in Paris.

At least six people have died in weather-related incidents across Europe this week -five in France and one in Bosnia.

Dutch national airline KLM warned Schiphol Airport was close to running out of de-icing fluid after days of freezing conditions.

Spokesperson Stephan Donker told news agency Reuters that it was an “exceptional situation” at the Dutch airport, where more than 1,000 travellers spent the night.

A few hundred beds have been set up there before and after security checks with food and drinks also provided, he said.

Donker warned of knock-on effects from the disruption, with further delays and cancellations possible in coming days.

In Paris, more than 100 flights were cancelled at Charles de Gaulle airport and 40 more at Orly.

Dozens of fllights have been delayed or cancelled in and out of Heathrow and Brussels.

Some Eurostar rail services between London and Paris were delayed or cancelled on Wednesday.

Almost half of mainland France was on alert for heavy snow and black ice, with lorries banned from the roads in some areas.

“It’s better to be here than stuck on the road,” driver Carle Bruno told news agency AFP at a roadside service station in the northern port of Le Havre.

Five people died in two separate regions of France earlier this week as a result of treacherous driving conditions, authorities said, while a woman was also killed in Bosnia’s capital, Sarajevo, after 40cm (16in) of snow fell on the city.

In Paris, Guinean teenager Boubacar Camara, sleeping in a tent on the outskirts of the city, told AFP he had “no choice but to keep on going”.

“You just have to stay strong [and] make sure you don’t die,” the 19-year-old said. “We can’t do anything about the cold. I’m not used to this at all.”

The rare sight of the French capital covered in snow drew residents and tourists out to ski down the slopes of Montmartre and along the Champs de Mars gardens below the Eiffel Tower.

“It’s exceptional, it’s incredible,” said Pierre, a Parisian. “It’s magnificent and we’re enjoying it. We also came across a lot of tourists and they look so happy.”

At 7 a.m., French transport company RATP announced that all bus services would be suspended “at least until noon” until safety conditions improve. The same measure was taken by Île-de-France Mobilités. The Paris metro remains unaffected and continues to operate normally.

Highway N118 was closed in both directions due to icy conditions, following a decision by the police prefect. Road traffic in the Île-de-France region deteriorated rapidly: from relatively minor congestion at 8 a.m. to more than 700 km of jams by 9 a.m., later surging to 950 km. This comes just two days after Monday’s record of 1,019 km.

Rail services were also hit hard. At Saint-Lazare station, the TER from Rouen was delayed by 50 minutes, while the train from Le Havre was 1 hour 20 minutes late. At Montparnasse, the TGV to La Rochelle was cancelled, and at Gare de Lyon, all trains from Lyon faced delays of at least an hour.

Some 100 flights were cancelled at Charles de Gaulle Airport and 40 flights at Orly Airport.

Earlier, it was reported that blizzards and strong winds hit Astana on January 6, rescuers urged residents to stay home.