Schiphol is satisfied with the progress of the very first peak day of the May holiday. For many travelers, the holiday started yesterday, but the airport expects peak traffic, especially today and tomorrow. There were hardly any queues at the security check and waiting times for the check-in desks were up to about an hour. This delay is due to the persistent shortage of personnel at the handling companies.
It was especially busy in the early morning in Departure Hall 3 at Schiphol. There was a long queue of waiting passengers in front of the Easyjet check-in counter. The low-cost carrier had already taken many travelers into account and called on its customers to arrive an hour earlier.
By the end of the morning, waiting times in all departure halls were limited to about half an hour. There were hardly any queues at the security check. “We are confident that the entire May holiday will end well, because we worked hard on that,” said Schiphol spokesman Dennis Mulller. “So far, this is a confirmation of that confidence.”
A report of the first peak day of the May holiday at Schiphol. The article continues below the video.
First peak day of the May holiday at Schiphol goes well – NH News / Doron Sajet
Jaap de Bie of FNV also sees the improvement in security, but emphasizes that the wages and working conditions of staff at the handling companies leave much to be desired. “If you look at the baggage basement and the platform, those staff shortages are still there. We are still concerned about that.”
De Bie wants to sit down with Schiphol and the airlines to bring the terms of employment for handling staff as close as possible to those of security guards, preferably before the summer. Only with that improvement will the groundwork at Schiphol become attractive to new employees, says the trade unionist.
“Rowing with the oars we don’t have”
Ton Kukler, baggage handler at handling company Swissport, has a hard head. He does not think that many improvements can be agreed on in such a short period of time. This is mainly due to the airlines refusing to pay more for the services they purchase.
Kukler fears that hardly any new employees will therefore be recruited: “That will mean making do with the belts we don’t have.”