Europe hit by sub-zero temperatures

Snowstorms and subfreezing temperatures have battered Europe, killing 29 people in Poland alone overnight and wreaking havoc on air, train and car travellers from the Nordics to Italy on the last weekend before Christmas.

France’s civil aviation authority ordered the cancellation of 40% of flights out of Paris’ Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports today through the mid-afternoon.

In western Germany, Dusseldorf airport was closed because of heavy snowfall, with flights cancelled or rerouted.