PARIS: Travelers in Paris and Frankfurt slept at the airport after snow and ice caused travel chaos. Pop singer Shakira canceled a concert in Germany, while the French prime minister missed a gala at Moscow's Bolshoi Theater. Many European commuters suffered through traffic jams on slushy streets Thursday, and Scotland even called in the army to clear the snow. Flights out of Paris and Frankfurt were still delayed after bad weather forced the temporary closing of airports a day earlier. Paris, a city of frequent rain, is unprepared for snow. Amid Wednesday's snowfall of 10 centimeters, bus service was shut down, traffic backed up, tourists were ushered out the Eiffel Tower and Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport was forced to close for an hour and a half. Meanwhile, French Prime Minister Francois Fillon missed a special gala by Russian and French dancers at the Bolshoi because of delays leaving France. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin – no stranger to snow – offered to have the Bolshoi re-run the event in Fillon's honor, the RIA-Novosti news agency said. On Thursday, delays of up to an hour persisted at Charles de Gaulle. Some passengers huddled under blankets after a long night sleeping at the airport. The sun was out Thursday in Paris, melting snow off roofs. A combination of snow, rain and temperatures hovering right around the freezing point caused traffic chaos in Germany, with hundreds of accidents reported across the country and scores of miles-long traffic jams. One person died in a crash in Rhineland-Palatinate, a state that borders France. Frankfurt Airport was shut down for more than four hours through the night after its runways were deemed too slick to allow for safe takeoffs and landings, spokesman Robert Payne said. Meanwhile, Scotland called in the army to help clear snow and ice after the heaviest snowfall since 1963 paralyzed the country's capital. Edinburgh City Council held talks with the Ministry of Defense and the Scottish government to secure help digging out the capital after up to 30 inches of snow in parts of the city left some of its most vulnerable residents unable to leave their homes.
