The airport announced on Saturday that long queues had formed in front of the terminal buildings. The fire brigade distributed water to those waiting.
The airline KLM had canceled 47 flights for Saturday and Sunday after a call from the airport. Other airlines shifted some flights to Rotterdam. As the airport announced, the number of passengers at Schiphol fell by around 3,500 on Saturday.
The congestion at Schiphol, which is also a major international hub, is being caused by a shortage of ground staff, according to the airport. There are no more workers to be found on the job market.
In order to be able to handle air traffic in the middle of the Dutch spring break, the airport had called on airlines to cancel flights. While KLM followed the call, other airlines protested. Holiday airlines in particular did not want to let the tourists down. KLM called on travelers to be at the airport at least three hours before departure.
At the start of the holiday season in the Netherlands last Saturday, the situation got out of control after an unannounced work stoppage by ground employees of the airline KLM. Dozens of flights had to be canceled at short notice, thousands of travelers were backed up in the terminals. Motorway exits were closed and travelers were asked not to go to the airport.
(SDA)