Snow forecasts force airlines to cancel up to half of Paris air traffic Wednesday

Paris airports to cut traffic Wednesday amid snow

PARIS — Many flights in and out of Paris will be canceled Wednesday because of forecasts for snow and icy weather, the French civil aviation authority said.

A strike by air traffic controllers also is planned for Wednesday and Thursday — another factor that could affect air travelers in France, especially in the southern city of Marseille as well as at Orly, the Paris area’s No. 2 airport, the DGAC civil aviation authority said.

It recommended that travelers contact their airlines to get flight information.

Because of the snow risk, the DGAC said it asked airlines at Paris’ main airport, Charles de Gaulle, to cancel 40 percent of flights from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m., and 15 percent of flights after that.

Traffic at Orly will be cut in half, it said.

The French national carrier Air France said it would maintain 100 percent of its long-haul flights, while canceling 75 percent of European flights at Charles de Gaulle and half of European flights at Orly.