Chaotic scenes at Schiphol airport to last all week

Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport has been the scene of long queues, delays and flight cancellations over the last few days.

Chaotic scenes continued this morning as travellers queued for up to two hours for security and six flights were cancelled, but the airport has denied rumours of a security worker strike.

What’s going on at Schiphol airport?

The airport – Europe’s third busiest – has today warned of “long queues at check-in, security and passport control.”

But they have denied claims by Dutch trade union FNV that security workers went on a “wildcat” strike on Wednesday morning.

“The process at the security checks continues,” Schiphol airport tweeted.

At least six flights have been cancelled today, including five flights to UK airports and one to Vienna.

Furious passengers took to social media to vent their frustration.

“What a drama… waiting, waiting, waiting! All done with #Schiphol,” one man tweeted.

What is causing the delays at Schiphol?

Over the weekend, the Netherlands’ national airline KLM cancelled more than 70 flights from Schipol, while other airlines – including Transavia, Tui and Corendon – rerouted flights to other Dutch airports.

The airport had requested the cancellations due to a staff shortage.

“It is an annoying but necessary measure to reduce the numbers of travellers, in order to manage the crowds in the right direction together with our partners,” a Schiphol spokesperson explained.

On Saturday, passengers were asked to arrive more than four hours before departure, and the fire department were called in to distribute water bottles to queueing passengers.

The airport suffered from lengthy delays earlier in April after KLM baggage handlers staged a strike to protest working conditions.

Will things improve at Schiphol airport?

Long delays are expected over the coming weekend. Local newspaper Het Parool predicts that 194,000 travellers will pass through the airport on Sunday alone.

Trade union FNV has today warned that it will be a ‘hot summer’ unless the airport urgently improves working conditions.

The union has written to the airport’s chief executive Dick Benschop with a list of demands, including job permanency and higher wages.

Chaos at Schiphol airport over the weekendReuters Connect

As the airport gears up for its busiest season, Mr Benschop has promised that the situation will improve.

“It is clear to us that the summer has to be different,” he said yesterday. “This must not happen again.”

Possible changes could include a flight cap on the number of flights leaving from Schiphol during the busiest periods of the year.

Watch the chaos at Schiphol airport in the video above.