Schiphol's VIP service in high demand due to long lines
Privium - Schiphol’s VIP service, with which people can skip the lines for a hefty fee - is in such high demand that the service is no longer accepting new customers. With that, travelers' last route to avoid the sometimes hours-long lines at Schiphol’s security checkpoints is closed, RTL Nieuws reports.
“At this time, unfortunately, we are unable to accept reservation requests from new guests,” the airport’s website reads. Existing VIPs can still use the service.
Schiphol has been struggling with long lines since the first weekend of the May vacation, April 23, due to staff shortages in security and baggage handling. As a result, demand for Privium skyrocketed. In 2018, the airport handled 17,500 VIP passengers and 20,000 in 2019. In the first nine months of this year, 21,500 travelers made use of the service, a spokesperson for the airport confirmed to the broadcaster.
The increased demand is financially attractive for Schiphol. A VIP package costs over 600 euros for the first passenger and 278 euros per person for the rest of the group. VIP travelers get access to luxurious lounges, fine catering, and their own security checks. When it’s time to depart, a car takes them to the plane stairs.
Among the existing VIPs that can still use Privium are all members of the Cabinet. According to the Ministry of Infrastructure, it is standard procedure for Ministers to use the VIP center if they use a regular scheduled flight for a business trip “for security reasons and for the sake of an efficient use of their time.” This applies to Ministers, State Secretaries, and their closest employees. The Cabinet has used the VIP service at least 71 times since the summer of 2021, according to the broadcaster.
Trade union FNV is pleased that the VIP service is temporarily closed to new customers because it demands extra staff capacity that the airport doesn’t have. “More VIP travelers would be good for Schiphol Group’s income. But the queues for normal passengers and the workload for the security guards who work at a normal security point would increase because then security guards would have to be removed from there to go to the VIP center,” said FNV campaign manager Joost van Doesburg.
Van Doesburg called on the Cabinet to use the regular terminals for their business trips. “It would be good if the VIP travelers, including members of the Cabinet, also stand in a four-hour queue once. That gives them time to think about the reason behind the long queues and, in particular, the too high workload and the low wages of the people who work at Schiphol.”
