Busy, but no long lines at Schiphol on first day of May holidays

It was busy at Schiphol Airport during the first Saturday of the April/May holiday break, an airport spokesperson said. There were consistent queues of people over the course of the morning, but passengers have not had to wait for very long.

"It is busy, but manageable, and the atmosphere is good among passengers," she said at around 9 a.m. on Saturday. Peak days were expected to draw about 80,000 departing passengers, and the airport predicted an average of more than 70,000 departing passengers every day during the weeklong school vacation.

The airport reported this week that it expects the annual holiday break to result in passenger figures that are 10 percent higher on average compared to last year. This year, the April/May holiday period falls on the same dates in the each of the three school regions of the Netherlands.

Staff shortages at the airport, including security, led to long lines during the holiday periods two years ago. As a result, many passengers missed their flights, and the frustration sometimes boiled over into physical violence and skirmishes. Chief Financial Officer Robert Carsouw said in February that the airport had hired many more security guards and screening staff to avoid the chaos of the summer of 2022.

The FNV labor union said on Wednesday that it did not expect any problems at Schiphol this holiday. "You can see from all sides that a lot of work is being done by employers to get through that peak in the spring and summer," said FNV union leader David van de Geer.

The Marechaussee also recently said that it was well prepared for the crowds at the airport during the holidays. The Dutch military branch handles passport control, patrol duties and other security tasks at Schiphol.

The staffing roster is "well filled," a spokesperson said. "When it gets very busy, we will shift our priorities to departing and transferring passengers, so that no one has to miss their flight."