Chaos and long queues at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

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Passenger
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Chaos and long queues at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

Post by Passenger »

https://www.aviation24.be/airports/amsterd ... ues-chaos/

It's too busy at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. KLM now requests a check-in time of three hours:

...Via various communications channels, KLM is calling on passengers to be at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol three hours ahead of their flight, instead of two hours. This applies for KLM’s European and intercontinental flights out of Schiphol. This in connection with anticipated congestion and long waiting times for security checks at Schiphol..."

http://news.klm.com/klm-urges-passenger ... -schiphol/

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sn26567
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Re: Trivia 2017 (miscellaneous news)

Post by sn26567 »

Passenger wrote: 21 Apr 2017, 17:48 It's too busy at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. KLM now requests a check-in time of three hours
Remember how some people complained when BRU was asking passengers to come three hours ahead of schedule, during a limited period? That was after terror attacks, which is not the case at AMS, where it is rather a staffing issue...
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brabel
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Re: Trivia 2017 (miscellaneous news)

Post by brabel »

sn26567 wrote: 21 Apr 2017, 19:13
Passenger wrote: 21 Apr 2017, 17:48 It's too busy at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. KLM now requests a check-in time of three hours
Remember how some people complained when BRU was asking passengers to come three hours ahead of schedule, during a limited period? That was after terror attacks, which is not the case at AMS, where it is rather a staffing issue...
Was in Schiphol on the 2nd of April and back on the 17th. I really prefer the small airport of BRU.
Everything goes so smoothly in BRU, while in AMS we had to wait 50 min for check-in, huge line for customs, long way to the plane. (I was there 3h before and we reached the gate only 30 min before departure, we didn't even have time to eat anymore) When in the plane, I thought I was gonna drive to BKK, instead of fly.
Also on the way back, after the plane lands in AMS, it takes like half an hour to reach the gate.

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Re: Trivia 2017 (miscellaneous news)

Post by Passenger »

At this very moment, the patient (= AMS) suffers a heart attack:
http://www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/2803 ... hol__.html

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sn26567
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Re: Trivia 2017 (miscellaneous news)

Post by sn26567 »

Passenger wrote: 21 Apr 2017, 17:48 It's too busy at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. KLM now requests a check-in time of three hours:

...Via various communications channels, KLM is calling on passengers to be at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol three hours ahead of their flight, instead of two hours. This applies for KLM’s European and intercontinental flights out of Schiphol. This in connection with anticipated congestion and long waiting times for security checks at Schiphol..."

http://news.klm.com/klm-urges-passenger ... -schiphol/
From the several comments in the Facebook page of Luchtzak, this one is worth mentioning: it was posted by a Dutch military Air Traffic Controller:

For years, AMS had the ambition to grow and grow. This has been so far that the number of passengers has indeed risen considerably. In addition, there was a sad discovery that a number of slots were not used and could still be forgiven on paper. But also on the technology level it was already at the top. Yet only 9,500 slots were released. With the 5-runway structure, but especially with the severe limitations due to noise ceilings, there is a fear that security is becoming questionable.

In addition, the infrastructure for the passengers (check-in, security & passport control) has never grown sufficiently with the increase of air traffic. In fact, in order to make even more profit, restrictions / cuts have been applied such that the available capacity is far too small for the now expanded offer.

This weekend is the first peak weekend and shows what KLM and other airlines have seen coming since a long time and have strongly reported: the cup is full and over. One hundred minutes to get the full check in is scandalous. Yesterday and the day before, more than 100 passengers missed their flight because they were late at the gate. This causes new problems, because no-show means that the luggage must be taken off board. That means delay so that the slot is missed ...

With an annual income of over 900,000 euros, it is good for the CEO to say that he is managing a large and modern airport, but the paying customers (passengers & airlines) are the victims of that pride.
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sean1982
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Re: Chaos and long queues at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

Post by sean1982 »

Image

Not like BRU is doing much better :roll:
All security points and passport control were like this.

From train station to gate today: 1:20min. Thankfully I came 2,5 hrs in advance

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Yuqu12
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Re: Chaos and long queues at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

Post by Yuqu12 »

What time is your flight? I don't know, but if you're leaving during the morning peak with all the big aircrafts leaving, it is always busier than when you take a flight in the afternoon. Maybe a frame around this picture would be useful, as this is certainly not always the case at BRU.

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Re: Chaos and long queues at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

Post by sean1982 »

Picture was taken at the time it was posted, so 09.22am. Queue for security was an hour, queue for europassports was none existent due to the "inoperative" gates switched on. My colleague on a non-euro passport spend 45 min in the queue at border control

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Re: Chaos and long queues at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

Post by sn26567 »

If you have to fly from AMS today, good luck!!!.

Image
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Passenger
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Re: Chaos and long queues at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

Post by Passenger »

Another confirmation that the ongoing problems are structural:
http://www.ad.nl/reizen/schiphol-krijgt ... ~afa4a102/

JOVAN
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Re: Chaos and long queues at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

Post by JOVAN »

With a good plan, good marketing communication, collaboration with Railway & Bus companies, etc.. BRU could take advantage of the saturation of Schiphol.
Especially business people would appreciate smooth, comfortable and convenient airports like BRU.

Provinces of Noord Brabant, Zuid Holland & Limburg are very industrious.
Huge potential.

PAX will only be happy if BRU would become a friendly alternative to AMS.

AMS is growing too fast, AD article very correct.

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Re: Chaos and long queues at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

Post by Jetter »

^^
That is true but real competition is only there when BRU and AMS offer the same non-stop destinations at the desired times. In 1990 the number of flights of BRU and AMS was close to equal while now the number of flights at AMS is more than twice as much as BRU. So the chance of a convenient flight is twice as large at AMS and half of the people who have a choice will fly from AMS regardless how convenient BRU is simply because the flight they want isn't available.

BRU should work on attracting new flights. A good start would be to solve the noise-issues, which should have been done a LONG time ago and keeps potential new airlines away.

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Re: Chaos and long queues at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

Post by eurojet »

I use Schiphol nearly every month, and over the last 2 years have witnessed the explosion in passengers. The attraction of using Schiphol for non-Schengen flights (like the ones I take to Moscow, Almaty, Kiev with the SkyTeam Group) was always the security check at the gate. Since that is over combined with the growth Schiphol has become a hit-and-miss. In the Schengen Terminal everything is now overcrowded, at peak times just walking around becomes an issue, or finding a spot to sit and eat/drink something. I lost my Gold status with Sky this year as well, so priority lines will be a thing from the past... For our Russia/CIS trips, Munich, Vienna and Zurich have become our main hubs now (flying our from Lux), we started to avoid AMS.

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Re: Chaos and long queues at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

Post by JOVAN »

Action already taken bij Airport & KLM.

More security gates, action plans...

Dutch know how important an airport is for their countries economy.

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sn26567
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Re: Chaos and long queues at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

Post by sn26567 »

Strong reaction of KLM towards Schiphol indeed:

https://www.aviation24.be/airlines/klm-roy ... irst-step/

The most striking sentence: "KLM calls on the Schiphol Board of Directors to take adequate action in due course. Both on the supply side (volume policy) and in terms of capacity (timely investing in piers, gates and security instead of shops and hotels)."
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Re: Chaos and long queues at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

Post by SabenaForever »

JOVAN wrote: 03 May 2017, 12:13 Action already taken bij Airport & KLM.

More security gates, action plans...

Dutch know how important an airport is for their countries economy.
Do they? it is disappointing to realise that apparently such a situation must first be created before they take action...

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Re: Chaos and long queues at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

Post by Jetter »

SabenaForever wrote: 03 May 2017, 12:40Do they? it is disappointing to realise that apparently such a situation must first be created before they take action...
In their defense: who would have expected AMS to be the quickest growing large airport of the western world over the past few years? The growth over the past year was even larger than DXB i.e. This is partly due to circumstances that were hard to foresee, as the terror attack and noise constraints at BRU and AFKL allocating all growth at AMS.

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Re: Chaos and long queues at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

Post by RoMax »

Much of the growth is related to the 'run for slots' by both the AFKL Group as well as by foreign carriers. Everyone knew AMS was going to be completely out of attractive/usable (regulated) slots soon and already has been for years at peak times, so all airlines that saw a market to expand in AMS went for it right away instead of waiting another few years (for some new intercontinental services) or having a more slight stepped approach.
The attacks in Brussels, as well as the stand-still by AF in CDG (not wanting to grow too much, if possible at all, until agreements are reached with their staff on crucial points) definitely helped and maybe even the noise issues (although I doubt that from a pax airline perspective, some have paused their development in BRU because of that, but those involved don't seem to have shifted to AMS in an abnormal way). But don't underestimate the 'run for slots', even last year there were already airlines in contact with other hubs (or alternatives for the local market) because they couldn't get the desired slots at AMS anymore as some other airlines expanded largely for the sake of securing those slots before the market was fully there (taking a temporary loss on yields for the sake of long term benefit)

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Re: Chaos and long queues at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

Post by Passenger »

AMS indeed benefits from the problems that Brussels Airport had, but most of it's growth is the result of own merit. They've looked for new airlines, they've accepted new routes from existing clients. No one was refused. The sky is the limit.

I know somewone who works at AMS and the problems are far worse then at the Security checks only (though that new system is the weakest point indeed). The growth causes problems all over the airport, from staff shortage at the Marechaussee Border Control till tow trucks with KLM. On the ground an in the air. Crew wonders why they are put into a holding on a normal weekday at noon, with fine weather conditions.

This article from NRC (a so "called quality newspaper") explains:
https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2017/04/27/10 ... 9-a1556358

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Re: Chaos and long queues at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

Post by Passenger »

Apart from the airport and KLM, nobody in the Netherlands seems to believe that Schiphol Airport can solve the problems that they have caused themselves.

Barin (the airlines), FNV (the trade union) and ANVR (the travel trade) say it's too little loo late:
http://www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/2809 ... ost__.html

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