Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport to cut flights over busy summer
- The cancellations during peak holiday season mean thousands of travellers are likely to be affected each day
- Security staff shortages at the Netherland’s busiest airport mean it cannot cope with the surge in demand as the Covid-19 demand eases
The Netherlands’ busiest airport is reining in flight departures over its busy summer period because shortages of security staff mean it cannot cope with the high demand as many families take to the skies for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic has eased.
The decision is likely to affect the holiday plans of thousands of travellers each day, the airport’s CEO said on Thursday.
Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, one of Europe’s busiest, said in a statement that on average, from July 7 until the end of the month, there are about 13,500 seats per day above the capacity that the airport’s security staff can handle.
A decision on August flights will be taken later.
The airport, which saw lengthy delays and flight cancellations during school holidays last month, did not say how many flights a day it would have to cancel, saying some of the seats have not yet been sold and passengers may be able to depart from different airports.
“It is, of course, frustrating,” CEO Dick Benschop told reporters. “Frustrating for the people concerned, families who have looked forward [to travelling]; frustrating for airlines, the first real summer after Covid; frustrating for travel organisations and frustrating for us.”