Long lines looming as Schiphol struggles with security tender: report

Schiphol Airport is facing staffing problems and potentially endless lines again during the May holidays next year. A lawsuit by two companies that lost the airport’s security tender means that recruitment has come to a halt, while the airport would typically already be preparing for one of its busiest times of the year, insiders told the Telegraaf.

The airport will appear in court next week regarding the tender for its central security service, which covers baggage handling and passenger screening. G4S and CTSN lost the tender and filed a lawsuit because they feel that the procedure was flawed.

This has caused a delay in awarding contracts to the companies that did win the tender and will be responsible for security starting in March next year. As a result, recruitment is currently at a standstill, while preparations for the May holidays - the top travel holiday for Netherlands residents - normally begin in September. The court will rule in this case at the end of October at the earliest, according to the newspaper.

According to the Telegraaf’s insiders, Schiphol now runs the risk of its new security operators being insufficiently trained and prepared at the start of the May holidays. Trigion, one of the new operators, has little experience with passenger screening.

“We are confident that the selected parties can handle this responsibility. We don’t comment on individual companies, but naturally, we only select parties that meet all the requirements and that we are convinced can guarantee continuity and quality,” a Schiphol spokesperson told the newspaper.

It was also agreed at the start that the staff of the current security operators will transfer to the new ones, Trigion, I-sec, and Securitas. So the staff, at least, have experience in the job. They will have to be re-screened by the intelligence service AIVD, but Schiphol says that it took the time the screening process will take into account. The planned start date of the new contracts remains in place for the time being, the spokesperson said.

“At the same time, Schiphol is preparing all the various scenarios so that we can proceed immediately as soon as the court issues its ruling. We view a smooth May and summer holidays in 2026 as a shared responsibility, and we are doing everything we can to guarantee them,” the Schiphol spokesperson said.

G4S is being ousted after around 40 years at the airport. The company objected in court to the fact that Schiphol chose a different order for selecting contractors for the lots. CTSN is accusing the airport of not carefully following all the procedural steps in the tender.

The Schiphol security tender is one of the largest in the Netherlands. The contract is awarded for ten years and is worth approximately €1.5 billion.