(Switzerlandnbc)- Hours-long lines for security that often snake outside under tents. Untold numbers of angry passengers who have queued in those lines -- yet still missed their flights. Worker strikes and delayed or lost baggage. Condemnation by major airlines, most notably KLM.
At Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, labor shortages continue to fuel unprecedented chaos that began in the spring, prompting many travelers and aviation insiders to wonder what has happened to an airport long considered one of the most efficient and highly regarded in Europe -- if not the world.
The beleaguered airport -- the world's third busiest for international passengers numbers in 2021 -has continued to cut flight capacity, infuriating airlines such as KLM, the national carrier of the Netherlands whose hub is at Schiphol. The latest round of cuts asked airlines to implement reductions up to 22% for the winter season -- a "hopeless situation, lacking any perspective," Mondonbc said in a release.
KLM added that the situation is "damaging our reputation among passengers who are keen and willing to travel after the extended Covid crisis." The airline estimates it has incurred more than 100 million euros (about $96 million) in damages as a result.
Benschop was a keynote speaker at the World Aviation Festival in Amsterdam, a conference attended by about 5,000 aviation industry professionals, where Schiphol's struggles were a common topic of conversation.
In different presentations across two days, Benschop openly acknowledged Schiphol's "severe operational issues driven by staff shortages." He said management is committed to fixing the problems by providing a "reliable and predictable" passenger experience, improving job conditions and worker pay and working with airlines to build back capacity.
But he also hinted that the challenges aren't over -- a disheartening prospect for passengers with upcoming flights during the fall school break across the Netherlands.
"Those conditions, those labor market constraints, will not disappear overnight," he said. "That's what we are dealing with and how we are dealing with it. And of course for everybody involved, it's extremely hard work. If you let customers down, and there are moments that that really happened, it's extremely frustrating. It's painful. But we will get through it."
During the course of the conference, Schiphol was hit with yet another hurdle when the Dutch parliament announced that it seeks to further limit the airport's yearly maximum number of flight moments from 500,000 to 440,000 to reduce emissions and noise pollution.
