People who fly to their holiday destination from Eindhoven Airport this year need not fear that they will miss their flight due to staffing problems. That says a spokesman for the airport. “More security staff have been hired to be able to handle the summer crowds properly. It will be busy at certain times. But the lead time is expected to be acceptable so that travelers can catch their flight.”
Anyone who flew from Eindhoven Airport during the busy holiday months last year will probably remember the long queues. At times, they even reached far beyond the terminal. Many frustrated passengers even missed their flight.
The main reason was a major shortage of security personnel at the airport in times of national labor shortage. As a result, there were often too few security lane manned. Just when the Netherlands went on holiday en masse again after the corona crisis.
But according to Eindhoven Airport, those situations are a thing of the past. This is what a spokesperson says after questions from Omroep Brabant.
Security personnel
“We have extra security capacity to properly handle the summer crowds. Compared to the same period last year, we have about 25 percent more security hours available for the checks,” says the information officer.
This year alone, the company that handles security hired 52 more people. According to Eindhoven Airport, this number will be 75. This is partly due to higher wages and extra allowances.
Trade union FNV acknowledges that it is better arranged for security personnel than before. Although some are worried, for example if there are sick people. Trade unionist Jaap de Bie: “The work pressure is high among experienced staff. Many new people are now working, which does not benefit the speed at which people go through the scanning street.”
Baggage teams
Where security guards have improved, according to De Bie, there are concerns among baggage handlers and platform employees. Those salaries have risen less rapidly.
Eindhoven Airport says there are still vacancies among the handlers. But according to Viggo, the company that arranges this, all teams are now at full strength. “We have worked hard in recent months to get the occupation in order and we succeeded,” says a spokesman for Viggo. “We are confident that we can handle the peak times.”
‘Don’t come too early’
Nevertheless, holidaymakers may have to deal with queues, thinks Eindhoven Airport. “It will be busy at certain times. Queues can form during the May and summer holidays. But the lead time is expected to be acceptable so that travelers can catch their flight,” said a spokesperson.
According to her, passengers can also do something about it themselves. For example, many people came to the airport much earlier last year, because they wanted to be sure to catch their flight. This created even longer queues and people still missed their flights.
Eindhoven Airport therefore advises people to be at the airport 2.5 hours before the flight. While Schiphol now uses so-called time slots for entry, this is not yet the case in Eindhoven.
430 flights
During the two-week May holiday, the airport expects to have about 430 departing flights per week.