Travelers miss flights at Eindhoven Airport due to long lines at check-in, security

Crowds filled Eindhoven Airport and lines stretched around 200 meters out the door on Saturday as the airport struggled to get travelers to their planes on time. Several people missed their flights after spending hours in line, sources told the NL Times.

"Can I summarize: It was awful," said Ardita Baraku. She and her 12-year-old son missed their flight to Tirana, Albania, after waiting three hours in the check-in and security lines. Although her Wizz Air flight was delayed twice, she and around 40 other passengers still couldn't catch the flight, she told the NL Times.

Baraku arrived at the airport two hours and 20 minutes before her flight to find a long line of people reaching outside the building, waiting to check in. When she finally reached the inside of the building, after around 40 minutes to an hour, a surprise awaited Baraku and her son: "The whole building, from one side to another side, was a big line of people. It was full of people waiting."

The security line was similarly long. Eindhoven Airport did not respond to questions from the NL Times about the reason behind the crowds. However, Schiphol faced similar lines on Saturday due to understaffing caused by sick Marechaussee officers, some of whom had coronavirus. The Marechaussee is also responsible for security at Eindhoven Airport.

Even though Baraku's flight was about to take off, the airport staff did not help or provide any information, she said. Finally, another woman on the same flight took over, calling the other passengers to the front of the line. Baraku and the around 40 other travelers bound for Tirana rushed through security to their gate. "We go inside and the gate is closed," she said.

Baraku and the other passengers were not allowed on their flight. Instead, they were forced to wait 20 minutes as their luggage was taken off the aircraft before it departed. They were then escorted back to the beginning of the airport, where they were directed to a website form and told they might be refunded within 30 days.

"Somebody said 'I was here at 1 o'clock,' somebody said 'I was here at 1:30 p.m.,' somebody said 2 o'clock. Everyone was here a long time ago," Baraku said. "It was not our fault."

Baraku, who took the train to Belgium and caught another flight out of Brussels Airport on her own dime, said she has no idea why her flight out of Eindhoven was delayed in the first place. Wizz Air did not respond to an inquiry about this from the NL Times. Air traffic at the airport was, however, paused on Saturday morning due to a plane landing with overheated brakes.

As the chaos at Schiphol continues to make headlines into the autumn holidays, Baraku saw Eindhoven Airport as an alternative. "I live in Amsterdam. I didn't go to Schiphol to avoid the long waiting and missing my flight, but I ended up doing the same thing," she said.