In the coming months, a maximum will continue to apply to the number of passengers that can depart daily from Schiphol Airport. That reports Schiphol Thursday afternoon after consultation with the airlines. Due to the structural staff shortage, the airport expects that the number of departing travelers will have to be curbed until March. The situation will be reassessed at the end of this year.
Schiphol says it has made the decision to give travelers a “reliable travel experience”. Also, the new long-term planning should provide ‘predictability and stability’ to airlines. Meanwhile, the company says it is looking for new staff in collaboration with security companies and unions. This is especially true for security guards. “That is a big task in a very tight labor market. We have to be realistic about that. That is why it will only become clear later this year whether more is possible after January,” Schiphol writes in a statement.
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KLM is displeased with the decision. According to the airline, the reduction in the number of passengers will rise to 22 percent, where it is currently still 18 percent. “This is enough for KLM,” writes the airline, which calls Schiphol’s services “below par for too long”. “This creates a hopeless situation, which has been going on since May.” According to KLM CEO Marjan Rintel, Schiphol offers KLM no prospects for the winter due to the new restrictions. She says she fears that the passenger restriction is structural.
The staff shortage has often led to long queues and missed flights in recent months. In mid-September, Schiphol last-minute announced that the number of passengers would be further reduced to 54,500 in September and 57,000 in October. Airlines Air France-KLM and its subsidiary Transavia complained at the time that the measure was announced late. The restriction on the number of travelers only concerns passengers who board in the Netherlands, people who only change trains in Amsterdam and therefore do not have to go through security are not affected.