A disruption in Air Traffic Control's communication system that halted all flights at Schiphol for a short time on Wednesday, has been resolved. Air traffic at the Amsterdam airport is now getting back on track.
"The communication system of Air Traffic control is stable again. Air traffic is being restarted. It will take some time before the situation at our airport is running as normal again, so please check your airline or Schiphol.nl for current flight information", Schiphol said on Twitter.
Flight traffic was completely halted at Schiphol airport due to a disruption on Wednesday. All incoming flights were redirected to other airports.
Schiphol reported the disruption on Twitter at around 1:30 p.m. Ten minutes later the airport said that departing air traffic was slowly starting up again.
"At this moment, there is no incoming and outgoing flight traffic at our airport. Air traffic control is investigating this matter. We will keep you updated. Please check your current flight status on our website, our app or check your airline", Schiphol said on Twitter.
Monday will be the busiest day of the year so far for Schiphol. The airport expects 233 thousand people, 3 thousand more than its busiest day last year. Extra personnel were deployed to help manage the mass of passengers, but longer waiting times are still expected, NOS reports.
Travelers are urged to arrive at the airport on time.
This summer vacation Schiphol is processing a total of 12.7 million passengers, an increase of 2.4 percent compared to last year.
The people living around six Dutch airports joined forces to fight against what they consider the undesirable growth of aviation in the Netherlands. On Tuesday they established a national residents' council on aviation called LBBL, ANP reports.
Shipping and flight traffic is halted in the south of Limburg on Friday, because Defense's explosives ordnance disposal service will be detonating an aircraft bomb dating from World War II in Meerssen, ANP reports.
The bomb weighs 500 pounds and was found during excavation work along the Juliana Canal in mid-May. The shipping traffic in the Juliana Canal between Maastricht and Born will be halted on Friday. No planes may fly across this part of south Limburg on Friday.
Schiphol airport expects a busy day on Monday due to spillover from a power outage on Sunday, people leaving on May vacation, and travelers returning from a long King's Day weekend. This will mean long lines at check-ins and passport controls. The airport calls on travelers to check in online and arrive at the airport earlier.
People living around Schiphol are taking the airport to court. They want the court to force Schiphol to properly monitor noise pollution caused by air traffic, and for violations to be punished, a spokesperson for the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate confirmed to NU.nl after reports in the Volkskrant.
The Public Prosecution Service wants a harsher approach to aggressive passengers on planes. This can include giving them a fine or a summons to appear in court immediately after the transgression, Prosecutor Frances Schlingemann said to newspaper AD.
Schiphol announced that air traffic will gradually restart from around noon after all flights were suspended for 45 minutes due to hurricane strength winds.
Arrivals at Schiphol were expected to resume at 12:10 p.m., Eurocontrol said citing the strong winds. Arriving flights were put in a holding pattern beginning at 11:20 a.m. “Very high delays all afternoon”, the European air traffic control monitor stated.
Hurricane-force winds in the Netherlands forced the shutdown of nearly all train service, all Schiphol air traffic, and several local tram services on Thursday. The NS made the decision to stop the trains as damage reports on the railways and at train stations kept coming in, the NS said.
The political opposition grows against the plan to set the opening of the Lelystad airport around April 2019. The ruling parties are under the pressure of their local politicians, who consider April 2019 to be way too soon.
Members of the Dutch Parliament of the coalition-parties VVD, CDA, D66 and ChristenUnie will discuss on the matter next week. According to newspaper Trouw, last week they met with fellow party members from the interested region. The ChristenUnie already came to the conclusion that next year's April is not an option for the opening.
Meteorological institute KNMI increased its storm warning for Wednesday from a code yellow to a code orange for the provinces of Noord-Holland, Flevoland, Friesland, and the Wadden islands. Very strong winds up to 130 kilometers are expected.
A code yellow warning is still in effect for the rest of the country.
The first storm of the year is hitting the Netherlands today. A code yellow weather warning is in effect for the entire country. Meteorological institute KNMI warns of gusts of wind that can reach up to 110 kilometers per hour.
A Flybe plane flying from Hamburg to Birmingham made an unscheduled landing at Schiphol airport on Sunday afternoon because of two misbehaving passengers, Het Parool reports.
The passengers behaved so badly that the pilot felt the safety of the flight was at risk and decided to make an unscheduled landing at the Amsterdam airport, a spokesperson for the Koninklijke Marechaussee - a policing force that works as part of the Dutch military and is responsible for airport security - said to the newspaper.
The airports in the Netherlands have a record summer behind them. In total 22.2 million people traveled through the Dutch airports in the third quarter, an increase of 6.8 percent compared to the summer of 2016, Statistics Netherlands reported on Wednesday.
Foggy weather is again causing flight delays and cancellations at Schiphol airport on Friday. Schiphol warns travelers to check their flight status before leaving for the airport.
Schiphol already reports a few delayed arrivals and departures for Friday. A large number of departures have also been canceled.
"Due to fog, today's flights may be delayed or canceled. Travelers are advised to consult the latest status of their flight via our website, the Schiphol App, or to contact their airline", the airport writes on Twitter.
The coastal provinces in the Netherlands are currently covered in thick fog. Meteorological institute KNMI issued a code yellow warning for poor visibility. Schiphol airport warns travelers to check for delays before leaving for the airport
Minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen of Infrastructure is determined to open Lelystad airport on April 1st, 2019, despite opposition parties and surrounding residents asking for postponement. "The opening on 1 April 2019 remains the target", she said during a parliamentary debate on Tuesday, NU.nl reports.
Motorists are warned to be careful of slippery roads this morning, caused by melting snow that froze again overnight. Meteorological institute KMNI issued a code yellow weather warning for all provinces except for Zeeland. After heavy snowfall on Monday caused two days of chaos at Dutch airports, most flights are now departing and landing on schedule.
According to the KMNI, the ice on the roads will melt away as temperatures increase during the course of the morning. "Adjust your driving behavior", the institute warns. Drive slowly and keep a safe following distance.
The Dutch Safety Board investigated two "serious incidents" at Schiphol airport in the last quarter. One involved a so-called tail strike, the second a plane being given permission to take off while a bird watch vehicle was still on the runway, NU.nl reports.
On April 21st, a Boeing 777's tail hit the runway during takeoff - the so-called airstrike. The crew decided to return to Schiphol as a precaution after the plane lost fuel over the North Sea.
Flights to and from Eindhoven Airport were halted for a short time on Monday afternoon after the air traffic control tower had to be evacuated due to a strange smell, AD reports.
Personnel in the tower started suffering from respiratory irritation and noticed a strange smell. The fire department was called in to take measurements. The tower was evacuated as a precaution.
The fire department found nothing dangerous and the personnel could return to their posts.
For the third day in a row meteorological institute KNMI issued a weather warning for slick roads and reduced visibility due to fog. The warning covers the entire Netherlands. "Adjust speed and keep a sufficient following distance", the KNMI warns. "Follow weather reports and warnings."
According to the KNMI, in some places visibility will be reduced to less than 200 meters. Local roads in particular may be icy and slick, as gritters don't always reach them.
In the third quarter of this year, Schiphol and Eindhoven airport both accommodated a record number of passengers, according to figures Statistics Netherlands released. At Schiphol 18.6 million passengers crossed the floor, an 8 percent increase compared to the same quarter last year. Eindhoven had 1.5 million passengers, a 15 percent increase.
According to Statistics Netherlands, these two Dutch airports have seen an increase in passenger each quarter for the past six years.
Hunters will soon be allowed to hunt geese in a ten kilometer radius around Schiphol in an once-off event. This is necessary because the animals pose a threat to air traffic and a court banned the large-scale gassing of these birds
