Fueling issues cause delays in Amsterdam

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- Thousands of passengers flying to and from Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport suffered delays and canceled flights Wednesday because of problems refueling planes, crippling the busy European aviation hub for hours.

Airport spokeswoman Willemeike Koster said 180 flights were canceled at the airport just outside Amsterdam, stranding passengers at Schiphol and other airports.

Field beds were set up at the airport as a precaution in case passengers were forced to wait overnight for their flights, Koster said.

It wasn't clear how many passengers were affected by the delays and cancellations, but Koster said the number ran into the thousands.

The problem began in the early afternoon and was finally fixed hours later. Schiphol announced around 10 p.m. the fuel delivery system had restarted.

Spokeswoman Madelon van der Hof said aircraft were being refueled and departing as the airport gradually began returning to normal operations.

The airport said earlier a fuel-supplying company at the airport had "a fault in their system. That means that planes cannot be refueled right now, which is causing delays."