PARIS, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris returned to normal Thursday night but Germany's airports were still closed or disrupted from heavy snowfall, officials said.
The Eiffel Tower's first floor reopened as 4 inches of snow and ice melted in the sun. Officials do not use salt on the iron lattice tower out of fear of damaging it. The relentless heavy snowfall east of the city forced a border crossing on the A31 auto route between France and Luxembourg -- also popular with travelers from Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany -- to close.
French commuters were urged not to drive unless it was absolutely necessary, CNN reported.
One person died in a crash in western Germany's Rhineland-Palatinate state, near the French border.
Meanwhile, Scotland mobilized the army to clear up nearly 3 feet of snow and ice in the capital, Edinburgh, officials said.
The army focused on thick ice and snow still on side streets and sidewalks after days of sub-freezing temperatures, The Guardian reported.
German aviation officials canceled at least 450 flights at Frankfurt am Main Airport, some 200 flights at Berlin Tegel and Berlin-Schoenefeld airports and close to 100 flights at Munich Franz Josef Strauss Airport.
Schoenefeld airport was to remain closed to incoming flights until 8 a.m. local time Friday due to a shortage of de-icing fluid, said the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation, or Eurocontrol.
Colombian pop singer-songwriter Shakira canceled a Wednesday night concert in Frankfurt because she couldn't take off from Paris, the German news agency DAPD reported.
French Prime Minister Francois Fillon missed a special gala performance by Russian and French dancers at Moscow's Bolshoi Theater due to flight delays.
