KLM will cancel all flights from European destinations to Schiphol on Saturday. The aircraft still fly to Amsterdam, but without passengers, the airline says saturday night know† The causes are maintenance on runways at Schiphol, combined with an unfavorable wind direction this weekend, which meant that “many aircraft” were unable to land and take off during the already hectic Whitsun weekend, according to KLM.
A spokesperson could not immediately say how many flights have been canceled. Judging by the list with flights arriving at Schiphol, it seems to be about thirty flights. According to KLM, passengers who cannot travel to the largest airport in the Netherlands will be rebooked “as soon as possible”. The measure will “in any case” apply for the rest of Saturday, according to KLM. Later in the evening, the company announced that all flights can probably be operated again on Sunday, ANP news agency reports.
The limited runway capacity at Schiphol, referred to by KLM as “unforeseen and acute circumstances beyond our control”, comes on top of the chaos that has been brewing at the airport for weeks. A KLM spokesperson speaks of a “difficult concurrence”.
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The biggest problem at the moment, says the spokesperson, is that about 80 percent of the passengers of European flights at Schiphol have to transfer to another flight. “There is now a huge traffic jam. There is a line of three and a half hours at the transfer desk.” The transfer passengers have to go through security again at Schiphol and thus ensure that waiting times increase for passengers whose journey starts at Schiphol.
Long rows
For travelers departing from Schiphol, the crowds were already big enough without the wave of switchers: on Saturday there were again long queues of passengers at the departure hall. Some missed their flight because of the crowds. According to KLM, the decision not to take anyone from European destinations with them should ensure that passengers who are now queuing at Schiphol “can leave as much as possible on Saturday”.
Another advantage of that decision, the spokesperson explains, is that the empty devices are easier to process. The so-called turnaround – the refueling, cleaning and loading and unloading of the aircraft – is faster if no passengers come along. This should contribute to ensuring that as many travelers as possible can still take off from Schiphol on Saturday.
Schiphol has been struggling with enormous crowds for more than a month. Due to staff shortages at security and baggage handling, passengers have to wait much longer than usual. The waiting times increase, especially during busy weekends, such as during the May holidays and now with Pentecost. KLM already announced on Friday that it would cancel dozens of departing flights per day this weekend as a precaution. To somewhat limit the crowds, Schiphol will only allow passengers to enter the departure hall a maximum of four hours before departure. To combat the staff shortages, Schiphol announced a hefty summer bonus for its employees last week.