Last weekend found a wildcat strike at Schiphol with all the associated consequences. The airport expects chaos to return later in the May holidays.
150 KLM employees laid down their work on Saturday. They were unhappy with the workload, rewards and the outsourcing of some of the work. The strike, that was not organized by the union, therefore created a chaotic situation at Schiphol. Later in the morning, things got so out of hand that Schiphol called on travelers not to come to the airport anymore. Cause: the terminal was overcrowded and as a result a further influx of travelers would no longer be justified.
May holiday
But the May holiday is still long. Although the strike ended at 1:00 PM on Saturday and the number of flights started cautiously, Schiphol believes that problems may arise again later in the holiday. This time the reason is not the dissatisfaction among the staff, but again the staff shortage is exposed. Last summer this also led to chaos at the airport. Handling companies are still struggling with shortages, which means that loading and unloading cannot be done on time. In addition, employment agencies cannot cope with the demand for temporary employees and there are many reports of sick. “In the end, the Netherlands just wants to go on holiday. The flights are full. In that sense, removing flights further is not the best solution, I think. It is piling up in the other flights that do exist,” says Patricia Vitalis, director of operations at Schiphol NH News.
Long waiting time at Schiphol
The largest airport in the Netherlands expects approximately 174,000 passengers per day during the May holiday. Security companies, which, incidentally, have already been ravaged by high work pressure, think the waiting time can be up to 45 minutes. Many travelers arrive at the airport shortly before departure. That is strongly discouraged. “People are no longer used to going on vacation or business trips. That is what we see in the behaviour. They arrive late, things are not in order and that is something that we now demand a great deal of attention for,” observes Elwin van der Molen, Colonel of the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee.
–
