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Schiphol Plaza/NS on Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.
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Monday, 1 August 2016 - 07:58
Pilot strike, fewer trains, extra security checks at Schiphol on Monday
Passengers traveling through Schiphol on Monday will have quite a bit to contend with. EasyJet pilots are striking, there are extra security checks on the road around the airport and fewer trains are traveling to and from the airport due to track maintenance. All will cause delays of at least 15 minutes, according to broadcaster NOS.
The first thing to deal with is extra security checks on the roads around the airport, which the Koninklijke Marechaussee - a policing force that works as a branch of the military - started on Saturday morning. Over the weekend these checks caused many a traffic jam on the highway, but things are running more smoothly on Monday morning, NOS reports. As long as you are not pulled over for a check, you shouldn't face more than a 15 minute delay.
Fewer trains are traveling from Amsterdam to the airport and the other way around. This is due to to construction work on the tracks - ProRail is renovating existing tracks and putting extra rails around the airport to deal with increasing traffic. These works will continue until Tuesday next week and can cause delays of 45 minutes.
"There's never a good time", ProRail spokesperson Mercedes Grootscholten said to NOS. "We need to do it. In this period (summer holiday, ed) there is less commuting, so this is the best time. It is still painful, but after this we do not have to attend any major work on this route."
Until August 9th there will be no trains between Schiphol and Diemen Zuid and between Schiphol and Amsterdam Bijlmer Arena. On Tuesday there will also be no trains on the route to Amsterdam Sloterdijk, which means that there will be no train traffic between the capital and the airport. NS is deploying buses on the routes with no train traffic. Taxi service Uber also launched a special service for traveling to the airport during this time.
The airport is still accessible by train from the south. And trains to and from Rotterdam, The Hague and Leiden are traveling as usual.
Finally, easyJet pilots are on strike between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. on Monday. The airline expects that at least half its flights will continue as scheduled, though travelers are advised to keep an eye on actual travel information before leaving for the airport.