Schiphol to compensate passengers who missed flights due to long lines

Schiphol Airport will reimburse the costs people incurred when they missed a flight due to the recent chaos at the airport caused mainly by a shortage of staff at security checkpoints, and not enough personnel to handle baggage. The airport has entered into an agreement to compensate passengers in a deal struck with the Dutch consumer association Consumentenbond and Max Vakantieman, a television program which airs on Omroep Max.

The arrangement applies to those who were unable to make their flight between 23 April and 11 August due to the long queues at Schiphol. In addition, the airport will only reimburse those costs that were not recovered in another way, for example compensation by an airline or travel insurance. Affected travelers will have until 30 September to submit a request for compensation.

These costs include additional charges for rebooking a flight or the costs for a new plane ticket, but also travel costs if people decided to go to their destination by car or train. The airport will also cover the costs for any accommodation that went unused when passengers did not arrive at their destination if those hotel rooms could not be canceled.

Travelers whose flights were canceled should already be compensated by the relevant airline according to European rules. Schiphol did not want to compensate for ensuing damages suffered by the affected passengers because the reason for cancellation is often unclear, the Consumentenbond said.

Nevertheless, the association is satisfied with the deal. "We first thought of filing a mass claim, but that turned out to be unnecessary. Initially, Schiphol held off completely, but now we have been able to make agreements. We are pleased that an arrangement has been made for many consumers," said a Consumentenbond spokesperson.

Schiphol will implement the arrangement itself. The Consumentenbond and Omroep Max will evaluate their handling of the situation afterwards. "But if people are wrongly rejected, those signals will reach us quicker, and we can discuss it."

The scheme is only valid for passengers inconvenienced through the end of Thursday. If problems still arise after that, the Consumentenbond will again consult with Schiphol.

When asked if Schiphol could extend the scheme to cover a longer period of time, a spokesperson for the airport said, "The picture is that the day-to-day business is continuing to improve. We will of course keep a close eye on the situation." She could not immediately indicate how much the airport will have to pay out in compensation.