Storm Goretti paralyses Polish air and rail networks, delaying hundreds of business trips

The winter storm that battered Amsterdam, Paris and Brussels earlier this week pushed east into Poland on 7–8 January, crippling domestic transport just as executives resumed post-holiday travel. Warsaw Chopin Airport logged six cancellations and more than 230 delays, while Kraków-Balice reported eight cancellations and 45 delays. LOT diverted two Boeing 737 MAX services to Katowice and Poznań, bussing passengers onward on ice-slick roads.

Aviation analysts blame a Europe-wide de-icing-fluid shortage that left aircraft queued on aprons until crew duty times expired, compounding knock-on delays hour by hour. Rail passengers fared little better: PKP Intercity trains on north–south corridors ran up to 90 minutes late and the S7 expressway crawled under fresh snowfall.



For mobility managers the timing is painful. Many had synchronised employee moves with Poland’s new MOS immigration rules that took effect on 1 January. Missed plant visits and onboarding sessions now require expensive reroutes—often through Scandinavian hubs only marginally less affected by the weather.

Travel insurers have seen a spike in claims for hotel nights and missed-connection costs. Airports expect operations to normalise by 9 January if temperatures rise, but urge travellers to build generous buffers and verify insurance cover for extreme weather. Longer term, the episode revives debate over Europe’s hub-and-spoke resilience as climate-driven disruptions become more frequent.

Companies with heavy intra-EU travel should revisit duty-of-care policies, ensure travellers carry proof of residence when rebooking via non-Schengen hubs, and consider flexible tickets during the peak winter weather window.