Schiphol succeeded in hiring 850 new security guards for the May holiday. This seems to have solved the staff shortage that caused the endless queues and endless chaos at the airport last year. Nevertheless, Schiphol does not dare to guarantee queue-free security checks during the May holidays. To make this check as smooth as possible, the airport has hired extra employees: two actors who show passengers how best to dress for their journey.
Schiphol has used the actors for two campaign videos in which they show what not to do with security. “Wear many different layers of clothing, large belts, shoes that come above the ankles and take all kinds of chains and such with you,” says Dennis Muller of Schiphol. Rather flexible clothing, a few layers and sneakers.
The clothing advice prevents congestion at the hand luggage scanner and body searches after passing through the security gate. The actors show it in an exaggerated way in the campaign videos. Muller does not think that Schiphol is not taking travelers seriously: “We have chosen to show the extreme of what is and what is not good.”
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Security guard Cecilia Linnebank is happy with the videos. She is fed up with having to ask travelers to empty their pockets every time: “If we can just make it run smoothly through this campaign, that they know what they are prepared for and we can support them with a few extra things can help, then that annoyance is not there.”
Tents
There will always be queues, Dennis Muller of Schiphol warns. “But with the measures we have taken now, we really hope we will no longer see such a problem as last year.” Schiphol is not yet removing the tents outside just to be on the safe side: “We assume that we will need them, but we will leave them in place just in case,” says Muller.
Trade union FNV is not confident that the May and summer holidays at Schiphol will go well. Although the staff shortage in security has been resolved, hundreds of employees are still under-recruited in the baggage basement, check-in desks and on the platform. The union therefore expects a lot of crowds in the terminals, delays and canceled flights.