Passengers are not welcome in the departure hall in Schiphol until four hours before departure

Passengers traveling through Schiphol from tomorrow are not welcome in the departure hall until four hours before departure. The airport has taken this measure to reduce the expected crowds. The airport expects a significant increase due to the weekend in Whitsun.

Staff will stop at elevators, stairs and conveyor belts from Schiphol Plaza to the departure halls to check tickets. Only passengers with a flight ticket departing within four hours are allowed to pass.

Also at the entrances in †Kiss & Ride’ In front of the departure halls, staff will be stationed to check passengers who are disembarked by car. Checks start at midnight.

high working pressure

The weather has been turbulent at the airport since the end of April. For example, a violent strike broke out among baggage workers at KLM due to anger over their large workload. After that, there were regularly very long queues, especially in the departure halls, and flights were canceled due to overcrowding and understaffing in Schiphol.

Schiphol and the unions reached an agreement yesterday. During the busy summer period, security guards, cleaners and ground handling (including baggage handling) receive a total of €5.25 per hour in addition to their regular wages.

Action Plan

The summer surcharge is part of Schiphol’s business plan for next summer. A spokesperson said additional checks before departures were also part of the action plan “to ensure that people begin their journey in a smooth manner”. It is a test. Until when it will run, the airport can’t say yet.

The spokesperson does not anticipate that additional checks will result in as large queues at Schiphol Plaza as they are in departure halls. “We can distribute people more easily in Schiphol Plaza, and the lines keep moving better. We also have the option of moving abroad.”

Low number of passengers in the departure hall

Thanks to these additional checks, the airport hopes that people will no longer stand in queues that are not actually meant for them. “If you come in four hours or so, the flight counters are usually not yet open. With this procedure, we remove people who are not on the queue.” The spokesperson estimates that this will mean “tens of percent fewer passengers” in departure halls.

According to the airport, dozens of additional people have been hired to conduct the checks. Schiphol is also actively inviting people to travel with less hand luggage from midnight to ensure a smooth flow through security. The airport also requires passengers to come by train as often as possible. The spokesman said other measures would follow.