KLM CEO wants Schiphol to scrap passenger limit earlier than March

Schiphol Airport should only be allowed to implement a lower limit on the number of departing travelers until the end of the year at the latest, said KLM CEO Marjan Rintel. She said the airline will urge the airport to shorten the term.

The airport recently extended its mandate that airlines limit the maximum number of departing passengers until the end of March. It said it would re-evaluate the situation in December.

The limit was extended because there are still frequent problems with the number of security guards working at Schiphol. The security checkpoints cannot handle a large influx of passengers, with passengers often clearing security too late for their flights. Rintel said during the World Aviation Festival in Amsterdam that Schiphol should look at all options to solve the security problems.

The airport should consider getting rid of its efficient, flexible scheduling system that is extremely unpopular with security guards, she said. "They have to make tough decisions to solve these problems."

At the same event, outgoing Schiphol CEO Dick Benschop said the airport is already seeing improvement after the "serious operational problems" from the summer.