Some 6,000 travelers depart from Schiphol a day late
Around 6 thousand travelers whose flights from Schiphol were canceled on Sunday, will be departing throughout the course of Monday. Schiphol already expected a busy day, due to the May vacation, but the airport started up well this morning despite the extra crowds, a spokesperson said to NOS.
The passengers who got stranded on Sunday, will depart for their destinations throughout the day. Some were booked over onto other flights, and a number of extra flights were arranged. Schiphol warns travelers to take note of a regional public transit strike, and to plan their journey to and from the airport carefully. Checking in online will also ensure that you don't get stuck in lines at check in counters.
On Sunday around 60 flights were canceled and many were delayed due to a problem with Schiphol's check-in system. The exact cause of the problem is unknown, but it happened after a large power outage in Amsterdam Zuid-Oost.
Many travelers paid large amounts of money to change to another flight on Sunday, AD reports. Herna and Gert-Jan van Biest from Ermelo paid 1,700 euros to book a new flight for them and their two sons to Silicon, for example. "We'll see if we get this money compensated", Herna said to the newspaper. Wim van der Gaag from Wognum paid 1,500 euros for new tickets for him, his wife and daughter to Catania in Italy. "The travel organization said, go on holiday, we'll figure it out later. I assume that we will not get everything reimbursed, but we are going to have nice holiday first."
Travelers who arrived at their destination more than three hours late because of the problems at Schiphol, can file a compensation claim with their airline. But it is by no means certain that they will be compensated in this case, aviation expert Joris Melkert of TU Delft said to AD. "These are extraordinary circumstances, and in most cases there is no right to compensation."
According to European regulations, travelers are entitled to compensation in the event of severe delays and cancelations. But exceptions are made for exceptional circumstances, like bad weather conditions.
