Schiphol chaos continues with more missed flights, long lines today

Schiphol Airport was again struggling to accomplish a peak level of crowds on Monday. Queues of passengers extended far beyond the arrival and departure halls. Many travelers also missed flights due to long waiting times at security lanes.

Schiphol used its own website to warn people about "peak crowds.” The airport advised travelers to arrive on time, but no earlier than four hours before their flight’s scheduled departure, as this creates extra crowding at the airport.

Yet that margin was not enough for one passenger named Saskia. The Waddinxveen resident wanted to catch her KLM flight to Vienna, but their plane had already left by the time she and her daughter got through security after a long wait. "You can come up to four hours in advance, but that won't help you. And we're not the only ones who missed their flight," she said by phone from the secured area of the airport. She was waiting there Monday for a replacement flight via Paris to Vienna in the evening that she managed to book. On social media, people were also complaining about missed flights due to the long lines.

Schiphol has been struggling with problems for some time due to staff shortages among security and baggage handling workers. Last month, airlines had to severely limit the amount of passengers traveling through Schiphol to keep the situation manageable. But in August, the airport will again admit thousands more departing passengers every day. This is possible because the airport implemented several measures including the hiring of more security guards.

KLM, the largest airline at Schiphol, said that it will be busy at Schiphol again on Monday. For example, travelers were expected to sometimes be late for their flights, a spokesperson reported. Schiphol itself was not immediately able to respond to questions about the issue on Monday.