KLM cancels 42 flights for Monday; Business travelers avoiding Schiphol

KLM removed 42 flights from the timetable for Monday due to the crowds and staff shortages at Schiphol. The chaos at the Netherlands' biggest airports is resulting in business travelers avoiding it, according to De Telegraaf.

KLM canceled dozens of flights on Saturday and Sunday after a call from the airport to decrease departing travelers to cope with the crowd. KLM is the largest user of Schiphol. The company previously said it was “very displeased” about the course of events.

Schiphol announced on Friday that until the end of October, 9,250 fewer passengers could depart from the airport per day than previously indicated. This intervention is necessary because there are too few security guards to perform the security checks.

More and more business travelers are flying through other airports to avoid the chaos at Schiphol, De Telegraaf reported based on figures from Schiphol Travel International. Previously, 96 percent of flying business travelers traveled via Schipol. That has now dropped to 91 percent.

According to Daan Lenderink, director of Schiphol Travel International, business travelers opt for airports in the Netherlands’ neighboring countries. And this will happen more and more if the queues and cancellations at Schiphol continue.