Schiphol extends compensation scheme for travelers who missed a flight | Inland

The compensation scheme originally ran from April 23 to August 12, but even after that, travelers were unable to catch their plane due to crowds at airport security. “Schiphol indicated that it did not expect any problems after August 12, but that turned out to be too optimistic,” said the Consumers’ Association. Schiphol will extend the scheme until 31 October 2022.

Sandra Molenaar, director of the Consumers’ Association: ,,We again received signals in September that travelers were missing their flight and immediately raised the alarm at Schiphol. Of course, it cannot be the case that travelers who missed their flight before August 12 are entitled to compensation. And that people after that date are just unlucky. It took a while, but fortunately Schiphol is now extending the scheme until the end of October.”

The Consumers’ Association Claim Service opened a hotline to gain insight into the number of missed flights. There were 560 reports in September and October.

Consumers can submit their claim up to and including 30 November via Schiphol.nl/compensation. The Consumers’ Association has agreed with Schiphol to monitor the handling of the claims. In a few weeks, the Consumers’ Association will discuss progress with Schiphol.

During the autumn break, the waiting time for security at Schiphol was less than 60 minutes almost every day. Only on one very busy one it took up to 1.5 hours to get through security. According to Schiphol, the figures point to ‘modest steps towards further improvement’.

According to the figures, the average waiting time at the security check was only 14 minutes. All in all, more than 2.6 million travelers traveled from, to or via Schiphol from 14 to 30 October. That was more than last year’s 2 million. In 2019, the last year before corona, there were still more than 3 million.

The airport has been struggling with long lines for months. Airlines also had to cancel flights because of the crowds. This is partly because Schiphol has a shortage of security guards. There is also an acute shortage of personnel in baggage handling.

But this autumn break, Schiphol has made the first progress towards solving the problems. For example, the airport is investing about 100 million in measures to combat the staff shortage. Agreements were recently made that the hourly wages of security guards at Schiphol will increase by 2.50 euros extra per hour, on top of the labor market surcharge.