Schiphol's small-bags-only lines here to stay

The special 'small bags only' security check lines at Schiphol may become something of a permanent fixture. After a successful experiment with these lines over the summer holiday, the airport plans to open them at fixed times and for longer during the autumn holiday, NU.nl reports.

Schiphol introduced the faster line for passengers with little or no hand luggage as one of multiple measures to reduce waiting times at security checks during the busy summer season. According to the airport, these lines were a success. Passengers with little or no hand luggage went through the security checks more quickly and were positive about the experiment.

During the summer vacation, these small bags only lines were only used in peak times. For the autumn holidays, Schiphol will open these check points at set times - in departure hall 1 between 3:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., in departure hall 2 from 6:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and in departure hall 3 from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. A new evaluation will take place after the autumn holidays.

Travelers can only use the small bags only line if they have no more than one piece of hand luggage that is smaller than 40x30x20 centimeters.

A total of 13.5 million people traveled through Schiphol during this summer. Airport figures show that 95 percent of departing passengers waited between 0 and 10 minutes in the security check lines in July and August, according to the newspaper.