May 3rd Report
 

Entered terminal building by doors on CitizenM side. Took moving platform to departure floor, and proceeded to the boarding pass reading gates to go upstairs to security and passport control. No line at Sky Priority, and about 10 people waiting at security point for Sky Priority. As I'm not Sky Priority, I had to wait with everyone else. 40 minutes from the boarding pass reading gates to getting through passport control.

This was at about 6:45 AM.

I wish DL gave us Million Milers Gold instead of Platinum.

A report from (Tue) 03.04.22

Arrived 4 hours before departure at 10am expecting the worst. Was able to drop bag in Departures 1, Lane 2 within seconds, and proceed forward.

Security pass gates behind check in desks all closed so had to circle back to the stairs for what's usually the HBO check point.

Queue started at top of stairs and circled 7 times back and forth, filling all the barriers.

BUT. Constantly moving, and perhaps 12-14 check points open. So in total spent 35-40 minutes in line.

Perhaps today is quieter, but I think Schiphol has responded well. They've got a better set up now, a lot more staff on hand to help organise queues, and I've always though Schiphol's security set up has been modern and efficient for moving people through and not having to remove so many items.

I spent nearly 2 hours in the security queue at Birmingham, UK the other week, only making my flight because it was delayed.

So overall, well done, Schiphol!

Press conference held today:
https://www.nhnieuws.nl/nieuws/30344...ersconferentie
First appearance of Benschop

Supposedly a hush hush affair to evade critics, union and environmentalists

Can't wait to hear what he has to say.

That article, by the way, is badly written and poorly reasoned.

Johan

Yes the article is a piece of fluff but it was the first one to report about the press conference.

Now also on BNR:
https://www.bnr.nl/nieuws/economie/1...iljoenenschade

Last Thursday for my non-Schengen KLM flight, I went straight from train to Departures 3 security instead of the Departures 1/2 area of the airport, to avoid possible KLM congestion. Hand luggage only, it took me 20 minutes from train to (priority)security through passport check around 1600 hours. Wondering if generally Departures 3 is less congested...

Have Schengen flight coming up, however, so not sure my boarding pass would let me into non-Schengen departures 3 to transfer myself airside (I remember doing this in the past to meet friends on Schengen flights and vice-versa). Has the Schengen section of the airport departures and security been equally affected this week?

Claim under EU Law for compensation for the delay?
 

Press conference
 

https://nos.nl/artikel/2427398-schip...rukke-periodes


Amusing blabla from Benschop:

1)Limiting flights at peak travel periods
Schiphol gaat een grens stellen aan het aantal vluchten in drukke periodes. Daarnaast wil de luchthaven het personeel beter gaan betalen om zo meer beveiligers en bagagepersoneel aan te trekken

2) Planning was too rigid and narrowminded
De luchthaven had zeven weken voor de vakantie een planning gemaakt. "Die was al strak." Daar kwam in het eerste weekend een onverwachte staking bovenop, die meteen leidde tot chaos. "Bovendien kwamen er meer passagiers dan voorspeld en waren er minder beveiligers, zo'n tien procent, door griep en corona

3) Schiphol receiving payment from airlines for luggage handeling and security setup
De luchthaven ontvangt ook geld van de luchtvaartmaatschappijen om de bagageafhandeling en veiligheid op orde te hebben. Per vertrekkende passagier betalen maatschappijen 17,37 euro voor de bagage en 13,90 euro voor veiligheid, in totaal dus zo'n 30 euro

4) more expected crazyness this weekend, some flight might be moved to RTM/EIN
Ook voor komend weekend wordt nog drukte verwacht. Benschop: "Het wordt alle hens aan dek." Ook nu worden er weer vluchten verplaatst naar Rotterdam en waarschijnlijk Eindhoven.

5) Schiphol discussing with union and subcontractors about wage levels:
Daarvoor wil Schiphol in overleg met de vakbonden en de onderaannemers ook kijken naar hogere lonen.


PS: i was expecting his position becoming vacant due to incompetence .....

Today 10AM was, according to the predictions, very low in passenger numbers. Almost at the regular level according to this.

So, happy to hear that your experience was good (and that Sky priority was kept available)... however this was not a peak time according to the website. Chances are that things will get much worse again closer to the weekend.

Quite absurd. Reducing flights as a long-term plan. How does that make sense?

Oh and 10% of security agents at home due to flu or covid. That sounds ridiculously high to me. If true everyone would be out for a week every ten weeks or so (<3 months).

Nuts! Until the pandemic struck Schiphol was going all out to increase the number of flights to the maximum ½ a million permitted, intentionally going well beyond what the existing and creaking infrastructure could cope with. That's something Benschop no doubt has conveniently forgotten.

There's a flu epidemic in the Netherlands?

Johan

You're not the only one.

Johan

Xandrios johan rebel :

Now with visual confirmation in video:
https://www.ad.nl/binnenland/topman-...w.google.nl%2F

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...59bbca6e1.jpeg

Great to hear that you experience was not as bad as you had anticipated, but I fail to see why Schiphol should be commended.

- That other airports offer an even worse experience doesn't make the one at Schiphol any less awful. If you are flying from Amsterdam, it is completely irrelevant that things might be worse at Birmingham.

- Having to arrive four hours before departure just because one has no idea of what to expect is nothing to be grateful for. Getting up in the middle of the night or sleeping at an airport hotel to catch a 10 a.m. flight is an annoying waste of time or money, and should't be necessary.

- Schiphol seems to have more than plenty of staff to boss their customers around and arrange them in very long conga lines, and keep them shuffling along for hours, but not enough people to speed them through security. Not sure what's so well done about that.

Johan

"Schiphol wil een grens stellen aan het aantal vluchten per dag aan de hand van de hoeveelheid personeel die iedere dag aanwezig kan zijn op het vliegveld."

Benschop must be out of his mind.

What does he want to do? Compel airlines to cancel flights the day before departure, which is presumably the earliest the airport can estimate the "number of staff that will be present" the next day with any accuracy? Limit the number of flights weeks in advance based on a wild guess as to expected number of staff available?

And who will decide which flights must be canceled, and what will the criteria be?

The airport is trying to pass the buck to its only customers, i.e. the airlines and their passengers. At the very same time they are increasing airport charges by 37%.

Johan

If I've understood this correctly, the "Meivakantie" ends on Sunday May 8th, and kids go back to school again on Monday. So coming weekend there should not be an unsually large (and for Schiphol totally unexpected) number of departing pax clogging security, but rather lots of people returning from vacation. Or am I missing something?

Johan