Schiphol wants to prevent flight chaos with an action plan

Ascension Day, aviation day. On a day when the lines are again far outside the departure hall, Schiphol publishes its ‘action plan’, in which the airport explains how it intends to defuse the chaos that has repeatedly unfolded at the airport in recent weeks. Will it work?

The plan itself is open-ended: more staff, working at Schiphol must become more attractive, the flow of travelers must be improved, and the number of flights must be drastically reduced.

Everyone knows that this is necessary. If you enter ‘rows’ and ‘Schiphol’ on Google, you will find numerous videos from recent weeks with rows of waiting travelers that seem to never end.

Last Sunday evening was the low point: a group of travelers feared to miss their flight. This led to anger. A dangerous situation arose in which passengers threatened to clash with each other and with the security personnel. The military police had to intervene to de-escalate the situation.

The plan published on Thursday starts with self-reflection: traveling through the largest airport in the Netherlands should be a “predictable and pleasant Schiphol experience”, but “this promise has not been fulfilled in recent weeks”. And that has to change.

Time slot rule

An important asset to reduce the crowds are new rules for take-off and landing rights, which will apply from 1 June to the end of August. As a result, the number of flights must be reduced. In short: airlines flying to and from Schiphol have so-called ‘slots’, fixed times within which their aircraft can land and take off. If they don’t use their slots, they could lose it to a competitor. Airlines therefore sent empty or almost empty planes into the sky.

However, the new rule will prevent airlines from losing their unused slots to competing airlines. Schiphol hopes that airlines will then choose not to allow aircraft to take off and that it will become quieter.

But what will happen after the summer, asks Frank Oostdam, director of the traveler organization ANVR. If the rule is then discontinued again, says Oostdam, “you will quickly fall back into the old system”.

By quickly recruiting more staff in the near future, Schiphol hopes that the flow of passengers at the airport will improve. Now that the corona crisis appears to be largely over, the number of travelers is rising rapidly again. There are serious staff shortages at the airport, especially among security guards and baggage staff.

Also read the first part of the On Hold series: Is the Netherlands getting congested? How waiting times can sometimes have far-reaching consequences

The shortage of security officers was partly caused by Schiphol outsourcing security to a total of five companies. Three of them handle security at the customs gates. A ‘fighting market’ has arisen between these companies, says Erik Honkoop, director of the trade union CNV. For example, security guards are given irregular working hours, which can change at the last minute. “Some of the experienced security guards have packed their bags as a result.”

The problem is: you can’t just bring those security guards back. The labor market is tight and the security guards have plenty of choice. They can also work in quieter places, where they have to work under less pressure. Only if you give them very good employment conditions, you may be able to get them back, says Honkoop. “Even then I don’t know whether it is enough to compete with other sectors.”

Schiphol is organizing a ‘job fair’ in the coming month. It also plans to approach former security guards again. Improved terms and conditions of employment are intended to entice security guards to come and work at the airport, but what that improvement consists of remains unclear in the plan and the Schiphol spokesperson is also unable to explain. “We are still discussing this with the unions.”

Take control

With the action plan, Schiphol is still trying to regain control of its own airport. If the measures do not work, Schiphol can choose to cancel flights in the ‘extreme case’. “That is a very serious measure,” said the spokesman. Airline KLM also announced measures against the persistent crowds on Thursday afternoon. For flights departing until Sunday, the airline limits ticket sales.

Whether this is the end of the chaos at the airport remains to be seen. Honkoop of the CNV is resolute: “You cannot solve this with a snap of your fingers, the causes are structural. You have to deal with that.”