Heavy snow cancels 50 departures at Oslo Airport and delays Poland flights

Disruption overview

Passengers at Oslo Airport, Gardermoen faced 50 canceled departures and widespread delays on 12 November 2026 as heavy, wet snow slowed snow clearing and aircraft de-icing. Domestic routes and international services were affected, while all 7 departures to Poland remained on the schedule but suffered lengthy delays, including flights operated by Norwegian, LOT Polish Airlines, and Wizz Air. Airport access was also disrupted, with Flybussen suspending routes and Flytoget temporarily reducing service as travelers struggled to continue their journeys. Compensation is unlikely because severe weather caused the disruption, but if you were affected, your airline should still provide appropriate care, along with rebooking or refund options where applicable.

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Disruption details

Heavy, wet snow forced Oslo Airport, Gardermoen to cancel 50 departing flights on 12 November 2026, while services operated by Norwegian, LOT Polish Airlines, and Wizz Air to Poland faced lengthy delays. In total, 215 flights were affected by cancellations or delays as snow clearing and aircraft de-icing slowed operations throughout the day.

For passengers, this meant hours of waiting, repeated changes to departure times, and disrupted journeys to and from the airport. Some travelers on a Gdańsk-bound flight spent hours on board without being able to leave the aircraft or buy food and drinks.

By 10:20 pm, 50 of the airport's 291 scheduled departures had been canceled, and 43 of 289 scheduled arrivals hadn't taken place. Another 24 aircraft were still waiting to depart late in the evening.

Domestic services accounted for 33 of the canceled departures. These included 5 flights each to Stavanger, Trondheim, and Ålesund, plus 4 to Bergen. The 17 international departure cancellations included services to Stockholm, Berlin, Helsinki, Amsterdam, London, Copenhagen, and Rome.

Among the 216 aircraft that had departed by 10:20 pm, more than half had left at least 1 hour late. The departure delays included:

• 122 flights delayed by at least 1 hour.

• 49 flights delayed by at least 2 hours.

• 21 flights delayed by at least 3 hours.

The longest delay approached 5 hours. Meanwhile, 2 evening services to Bergen were pushed back until after midnight.

None of the 7 scheduled departures from Gardermoen to Poland were canceled, but passengers still faced substantial waits. Norwegian's morning flights to Warsaw, Kraków, and Gdańsk, along with a LOT Polish Airlines service to Warsaw, departed between 2 and 3 hours late.

Wizz Air's afternoon departures to Kraków and Gdańsk were also delayed, as was LOT's evening Warsaw flight. Arrivals from all 3 Polish cities suffered delays too, with a Norwegian service from Gdańsk only reaching Oslo in the evening.

A passenger on the Gdańsk-bound flight described boarding at 10:18 am and remaining on the aircraft for hours as departure was repeatedly postponed. Another passenger described long de-icing queues and said no food had been offered.

The snow had been forecast, but its heavy, wet consistency made operations more difficult. Snow-clearing teams worked continuously, and every aircraft needed de-icing before departure. Norwegian said aircraft were waiting for both processes, with some taking 40 minutes just to reach a gate because snow removal blocked their progress.

Reaching the airport was also difficult. Flybussen suspended all routes at around 12:30 pm because vehicles blocking the roads prevented buses from getting through. Flytoget reduced train frequency after 1:00 pm and canceled some services before returning to normal at 3:10 pm.

If you're traveling through Gardermoen, check the airport's website and your airline's app for your flight's latest status. Follow your airline's instructions on check-in and boarding times, even if your departure is delayed.

Compensation under EC 261 is unlikely for these disruptions because severe weather is outside the airline's control. That doesn't remove your right to support while you wait.

On short European routes such as Oslo to Gdańsk, Warsaw, and Kraków, your airline should normally offer food and drinks after a 2-hour delay. If your delay reaches 5 hours, you may be able to decide not to travel and request a refund. For a canceled flight, your airline must offer an alternative journey or a refund if you no longer wish to travel.

If you're away from home and your journey is delayed overnight, your airline should also provide accommodation and transportation to it. You can use AirHelp's free flight checker to better understand whether compensation could apply to your particular disruption.

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Information on this page is AI generated, but always checked by a (human) passenger right expert.