Storm Charles triggers first wave of flight cancellations at Nice Côte d’Azur ahead of landfall

As low-pressure system Storm Charles tracks north from the Iberian Peninsula, airlines have begun pre-emptive cancellations on the French Riviera. Nice Côte d’Azur airport confirmed that Wednesday’s TP493 to Lisbon and IB8711 to Madrid were pulled after their Iberian destinations closed multiple runways for high winds and torrential rain. Météo-France forecasts the storm will reach south-east France on Thursday, bringing up to 150 mm of rain and gusts of 140 km/h. Local carrier Volotea and legacy players Air France and TAP are reviewing schedules for Marseille, Montpellier and Toulon, while ground-handling companies have warned of possible stoppages if red weather alerts are issued. The cancellations come on top of disruption in Portugal and Spain, where more than 300 flights were grounded on 11 November. The knock-on effect is already visible in Paris, with four departures from Charles-de-Gaulle scrubbed on Wednesday because crews and aircraft were out of position. Corporate travel managers with itineraries through southern France over the next 48 hours should activate duty-of-care protocols, track employees’ flights in real time and remind staff that EU261 compensation does not apply when cancellations are ‘extraordinary circumstances’ such as severe weather. For critical meetings, consider re-routing via Lyon or Geneva, where conditions are expected to remain within operating minima.