Untrained interns filling staff shortages at Schiphol: report

Handling companies at Schiphol Airport use inexperienced and untrained interns to fill roster gaps in passenger, baggage, and aircraft handling. These trainees are left to figure things out for themselves without supervision while they perform work that could affect flight safety, several sources, and trade union FNV told NH Nieuws.

According to the broadcaster’s sources, handling companies Menzies, Swissport, and Aviapartner are particularly guilty of abusing interns in this way. The handling companies deny the allegations.

Ground stewardess Zoubida sees roster gaps filled by interns every day. “Young girls aged 18 or 19 who sometimes shake with fear because they don’t know what to do with swearing passengers at the check-in desk,” she told NH Nieuws. “The agreement is that a buddy supervises trainees for about four weeks, but that is often not the case.” According to Zoubida, interns are often scheduled on night shifts for days in a row, have to check in hundreds of passengers independently, and even have to control and connect jet bridges. They hardly ever come back to work at the company.

A baggage handler also sees interns working on the platform without supervision. That puts extra pressure on the experienced staff, he said. Trainees don’t know how to load a plane carefully, which could lead to dangerous situations. “Such a mistake can have fatal consequences.”

Ground steward Rene has seen interns boarding passengers on the wrong flights, only for the flight crew to notice and fix the mistake. “Such errors cause additional delays,” he said. Similar mistakes occur on the platform, like suitcases ending up on the wrong plane.

Philip Mol, director of MBO College Airport in Hoofddorp, is appalled that the handling companies are throwing interns into the deep end. He asked for clarification from the handling companies and demanded that they and Schiphol provide sufficient supervision for his interns.

Mol and Jaap de Bie of FNV both said that they’d open a hotline where students and interns can report abuses. Mol stressed that the college makes students aware of their rights even before their internship. The hotline is an emergency measure for when companies don’t comply with the agreements.

An HR manager for Menzies told NH Nieuws that the company adheres to internship guidelines at all times. A Swissport spokesperson said that students at Schiphol always do their internship under the supervision of an experienced Swissport employee in accordance with agreements, regulations, and safety requirements. Aviapartner did not respond.