KLM had to cancel thirty flights today. “Around 5 p.m. it became too busy at the counters, so we asked travelers to leave Schiphol. They could no longer be helped personally, but were informed how they can rebook,” says a KLM spokesperson.
That had to do with runway maintenance and last Saturday’s strike. Nienke Otten’s family also missed the flight. “My children and their father have been trapped at Schiphol for hours,” she tweeted. “They got in line five hours before departure. Because of all that waiting, they missed their flight.”
Long rows
Due to the May holidays and the staff shortage, Schiphol already expected extreme crowds these days. “And the consequences of last Saturday’s wild strike are added to this. That resulted in peak crowds and long queues again today,” says the spokesman for the Marechaussee.
The peak was mainly in the morning. “Sometimes the irritations ran high and this resulted in disturbances and unwellness. We have seen that all over the airport.”
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The May holiday is traditionally seen as the start of the summer season† Schiphol is again seeing the same numbers of passengers as before the corona outbreak. On a busy day, that’s 200,000 travelers.
But the country’s largest airport is also suffering from staff shortages. “Due to the corona pandemic, many staff have stopped and started doing other work,” the spokesperson explains. “We are faced with too few people at the check-in counters, at the luggage and security.”
Dozens of flights cancelled
And then there was Saturday too once that unexpected strike of the ground workers. As a result, KLM had to cancel 110 flights. “And other airlines have also had to cancel a total of about 50 flights,” says a Schiphol spokesperson.
View images of the enormous crowds at Schiphol last weekend:
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Travelers called in panic
A spokesperson for the traveler organization TUI says that it was very busy especially at security. “We have received panicky calls from travelers because of the crowds,” says the TUI spokesperson. “I understand that there were many lines, especially this morning, partly because of the rescheduling of flights. In any case, we tried to have the planes leave as late as possible. Within the time slot, of course.”
displeasure
Many travelers today are sharing their displeasure with the crowds on Twitter. “I lost my luggage. Waited three hours, for nothing. And there was no service”, says Frank van Veen.
Crowds are also expected in the coming days. The Marechaussee has already announced that it will deploy extra people.
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