Had my BOD to AMS cancel - missing connection to DXB. Re-routed via CDG but arriving 6 hours after original arrival.. with it being KLM ground handlers doing the strike action will EU261 be valid claim?

Wife and Kids have been waiting 5 hours in the queue (AND counting) to get rebooked....nothing is happening.
Platimun line is not working, Help service at the lounge cannot rebook....no sky priority at transfer desk....

Chaos....

I suppose so, the flight could have operated without luggage being loaded (as they sometimes do).

I was at SPL this morning at 6 AM, ready for a day at work as an airport rep. You know, these people holding up signs for all those (river) cruise companies. I thought i had an easy first transfer, 2 pax on DL 46 from JFK and 13 pax on DL 70 from ATL. Both flights were late this morning. The pax from JFK arrived with their luggage, no problem. ATL pax however, did not exit from customs. We had no idea, as there was no information at all. Eventually, 4 people arrived landside. I asked them if they had a PIR. No, they said, they had filled out a report and given that to KLM lost and found. No copy was given to them, it was not a proper PIR. In short: approximately 25 pax have been transfered to their rivercuise ship without luggage and without a report/PIR/file reference. The cruisedirector and concierge on that ship try reaching KL by phone, whatsup, twitter, facebook....the got (not surprisingly) no reply at all and are unable to reach anybody at KLM. So reality is now that the ship is starting to sail away from Amsterdam tonight. With 25 or so pax on board without luggage. With 25 or so pax on board without filenumber, nothing to refer to. With KLM not answering calls, messenger, whatsapp.
I have been on those ships for many years and have had my share of IRROPS but i am surely not jealous of those on board who have to deal with 25 pax without luggage. They show up at your desk every 15 mins. And it is so frustrating, as you have no chance to do anything. Then, later, SPL got closed off, and our drivers were unable to pick up passengers to bring them to the ships. So, we told them: your wait here will be around 3 hours, but nothing is for sure......
Just want to draw your attention also to this side of the drama that unfolder today at SPL. Not only departing pax was hell, arriving pax as well. I am home, enjoying some wine........

Closing those offramps makes no sense. Just creates more problems for more people.

Johan

I was trying to fly from AMS to BLL today. First on the Kl 1343departing at 10:05 and I was at 8:15 at the airport. Already there the airport was totally packed and couldn’t even get come to SkyPriority security. The lounge wasn’t full at the time, maybe 70% but that changed within 30 min with pax queuing up the stainless steel poles outside.
At 9:30 the KL1343 was canceled and the whole departure screen was red. The service desk was overcrowded. But I got rebooked on the KL 1345 at 12:55 and until that point I still thought it was due to runway construction and unfavorable winds.
But on FlightRadar I could see there wasn’t an aircraft assigned to that flight and I knew we were in chaos. At that point news came regarding the strike but the peak in chaos in lounge came when no one was allowed to come in anymore and there were signs hanging to find a hotel because there wasn’t a solution. The poor ladies at the desks were working extremely hard and probably had the hardest day of 2022 so far. People were desperate and many with small children.
The KL 1345 got canceled as well, as expected and I was rebooked on the KL1341on Tuesday the 26th! 3 days later. PSL was available but didn’t want to put me on a earlier flight because Y was sold out and J was not an option.
Also alternative routes were not an option. Also not an alien airline. Nothing was possible. Even not as a Platinum member.
So now I’m stuck.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...929367426.jpeg

Oh boy, does that ever suck! For thousands of other pax too.

Johan

I have to admit, I am quite hesitant to transiting at AMS tomorrow. Is there any indication to whether the situation will improve? The wind issue seems like it will remain.

Winds on Sunday are forecast to be moderate northeasterly, today they were mostly easterly. Don't think that will make much of a difference, though. Those two runways will undoubtedly be just as closed tomorrow as they were today.

Looking on the bright side, only seven KL flights were canceled this evening, with most of the rest listed as on time, and the remainder only slightly delayed. Almost back to normal, in other words.

The number of canceled KL flights on Sunday currently stands at 18. A number of Sunday longhauls are already listed as delayed by exactly 60 minutes. My guess is that those flights have lots of connecting pax arriving on longhaul flights that will arrive late tomorrow due to the very late departure of the outbound flights today.

I'll put my money on an improvement (it probably can't get any worse than today anyhow). If nothing else, they will probably try to keep cancelations to an absolute minimum, given the number of stranded pax they need to get on their way. Many flights will no doubt be packed, and delays are to be expected.

Johan

Thank you, Johan. I guess i will be reporting live from the battlefield.

Report from the battlefield:
when I opened my eyes at 6:30 AM I checked first thing if there were any earlier flights available and there the KL1341 popped up, 8:25 departure.
I called the Dutch PSL, yesterday not available, and was rebooked. Funnily enough the international one based in Prague I believe wasn’t available. Too busy. Anyway, So I was in a rush to check out of the hotel, eat breakfast and rush to the airport.
Once arrived everything seems normal. Only US incoming flights are delayed thus also the departing ones later today but moderate delays of 30-60 minutes. Could be worse.
Cityhopper is operating well and to my surprise this KL1341 is only 50% full!

Interesting. Perhaps it was such a mess yesterday that KLM had no idea which flights would actually be going out today, and therefore decided not to rebook anybody on today's departures?

I've been keeping a beady eye on ARN. Yesterday evening there was not a single seat available on any flight today, but there were still a few open tomorrow, Monday. This morning availability is still nil for today, and for tomorrow they are now only offering two seats via CDG, with an overnight layover and at an extortionate price. Tuesday wide open.

Until 9.30 this moring everything was fine at Schiphol, with all KL flights but one on time, except for the four that were canceled.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...3a46b12b15.jpg

Second half of the morning looks worse, but nowhere near as bad as yesterday

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...732abc040c.jpg
Rest of the day is anybody's guess.

Johan

Just wondering when Schiphol moved the queue to outside the terminal, was SkyPriority of any use or were all pax SOL?

No idea, but smart OLCI/HBO pax would surely have gone to T3 and then through security there.

Johan

Arrivals a right mess today
 

Early morning it was mainly the incoming longhauls that were severely delayed (2 - 4+ hours), but starting midmorning just about every incoming KL flight is running late, mostly 30 - 60 minutes.

As an example, KL1341 AMS-BLL was on time, yet the return KL1342 is now expected an hour late. Maybe later, because although the aircraft pushed back only 12 minutes behind schedule, it is currently still on the ground at BLL, presumably waiting for a slot. No doubt due to the single runway available for landings.

Schiphol's decision to close two runways for maintenance simultaneously is surely the brightest idea in commercial aviation so far this year.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...614c7aad80.jpg