Schiphol baggage firms warn airport, airlines of Spring holiday staff shortages

An association of baggage handling companies that work for airlines at Schiphol Airport said that it is not clear if they will be able to recruit enough new employees to prevent problems during the May vacation period. The employers’ association, WPBL, is calling on the airport and the airlines to step up and do more to prevent baggage handling problems from arising. The WPBL believes the employers it represents has already done their share to prevent issues.

The WPBL wants all parties to take responsibility, and join them in a conference room to fix the situation, including employers, airlines and Schiphol. Edwin van der Linden, the chair of the WPBL, says employers have already taken significant steps. “We have just agreed to a new collective labor agreement in our sector as of July 1, 2022. The salaries of the lowest-paid employees in our sector will gradually increase by more than 25 percent over the next three years. That is unprecedented.”

But Schiphol wants the employers to increase wages faster in order to make baggage handling jobs more attractive when recruiting new staff. But faster than those three years, that is not possible. “As a sector, we simply cannot handle such a large cost increase in one go,” says Van der Linden.

WPBL represents various handling companies, including Swissport, Menzies, Aviapartner and Viggo. The outsourcing companies arrange for employees on the ground on behalf of airlines, from the check-in desk workers to luggage loaders at the aircraft.

This cooperation is often based on a long-term contract, explains Van der Linden. “As a result, the costs of accelerating the wage increase is difficult to pass on to the airlines, because it is also difficult to break open those contracts.” Ideally, baggage handling companies could discuss this with the companies. “But that process does not go quickly, especially when the contracts are concluded abroad.”

Schiphol CEO Ruud Sondag sounded alarm bells last week, saying the staff shortages at the larger baggage handling companies could cause too many problems. During the May school holidays, which begin in all regions of the Netherlands on April 29, the airport may have to reintroduce a maximum limit to the total number of passengers departing from Schiphol daily. That limit has been in place since last summer, and is currently set to expire in March.

Van der Linden wants to see Schiphol take the lead, although the airport itself does not generally contract baggage handling companies for passenger services. For the time being, the airport has offered a loan of 10 million euros. “But a loan is not free and eventually has to be paid back. That is not a solution in any way,” Van der Linden says.

Last week, he argued that passengers departing from the airport face a surcharge of a few euros per person where the fee is used to help baggage handling companies at Schiphol recruit much-needed additional staff.