Extra security at Schiphol somewhat relaxed

The extra security measures in place in and around Schiphol airport will be reduced in part during the course of Thursday night, the Haarlemmermeer triangle of municipality, police and judiciary decided after consultation with the National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security, ANP reports.

Investigation into the "signal" received almost three weeks ago that triggered the extra security, led to the conclusion that some of the extra measures are no longer necessary. Not all the extra measures will be removed, which means there will still be more security than before the signal was received on July 30th.

The reduction of the security measures does, however, mean that the Koninklijke Marechaussee - a policing force that works as part of the military and is responsible for airport security - will be able to handle security in and around the airport itself. Extra help from soldiers will no longer be necessary, the triangle said, according to the news wire.

The Marechaussee is currently training extra  High Risk Security Squadron units to handle extra security at the airport. If all the extra security measures remained in place, the Marechaussee would only have had enough units available to handle it itself by mid-2017, Financieele Dagblad reported earlier this week.

Passenger traveling to the airport by car or train may still be checked and searched, and this can still lead to traffic jams and delays. The Marechaussee aims to keep the delays to less than 30 minutes.

The triangle emphasized that constant vigilance is still necessary at Schiphol, like with other international airports. "Airports remain a conceivable target for terrorists. Therefore security measures remain in force. In this the safety of passengers and employees come first."

The first of several suicide bombings in Brussels, Belgium in March happened at Zaventem airport.