Schiphol expects busy, manageable day, but lines building; 700 delayed, cancelled flights on Monday

Schiphol Airport expects a busy but “more manageable day” on Tuesday compared to the operations on Monday. The airport is closely monitoring the flow and waiting times of travelers, a spokesperson said. Schiphol warned passengers they should put on a pair of comfortable shoes before going to the airport. The airport was still urging passengers not to show up more than four hours before their flight, repeating their calls from the chaotic period over the summer.

It was already busy by 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, with lines stretching over a few hundred meters in length, though it had not yet grown difficult too handle, like a day earlier. Over 80 flights were cancelled on Monday, and about 650 flights were delayed anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours.

At Departures 1, airline passengers were already waiting outside, while the queue was growing at Departures 3. Travelers there were also beginning to line up outside. Several flights have also been cancelled, although the reason for the cancellation is not yet known. These are mostly flights within Europe that have been crossed off the schedule.

Schiphol claimed that the average security queue was about an hour by mid-morning. According to a spokesperson, the lines are running smoothly and the ratio of travelers to security guards present is better balanced than on Monday. Travelers will be kept informed of the current waiting times via video screens and in the Schiphol app. There are no longer signs stating the approximate waiting times in the queues outside and in the departure hall itself, as was the case this summer.

Poor staffing levels at security checkpoints meant extreme crowds again formed at Schiphol on Monday, with thousands of people lining up for up to three hours, and many passengers missing their flights. Schiphol has already said that it found the situation "extremely irritating" for travelers.

Many airlines kept flights at the gate as large volumes of passengers were unable to make it to the gates before boarding. In fact, The airport asked airlines to cancel flights on Monday to cope with the crowds. Transavia and KLM canceled flights, Corendon and TUI said they wouldn’t. EasyJet flights continued as planned.

Over 715 flights were affected. More than 80 flights were cancelled, including over 40 departures. About 450 departures and 200 arrivals were delayed over the course of the day.

Two of the cancelled departures were destined for the British city of Liverpool, where Ajax will play against Liverpool in the Champions League on Tuesday. Many Ajax supporters had tickets for those flights.

Until last week, Schiphol kept daily updates on its website with the number of expected passengers. With the end of the summer holidays, the updates stopped. “In the course of August, the services at Schiphol became more stable,” the website reads.