The Netherlands’ busiest airport, Schiphol, will introduce restrictions on the number of passengers during morning rush hours in April and May, the airport’s management announced. Passenger numbers will be limited by 5%.

During the first week of April, the 5% restriction will be in effect all day for departing travellers. Thereafter until mid-May, the measure will only apply for morning rush hours. This period includes the May holiday in the Netherlands, which will take place between 29 April and 7 May.

The measures aim to reduce the risk of “unacceptable delays for travellers” at check-in and security, the airport’s operator said in a statement.

Learning from last year

In the summer of 2022, Schiphol airport was overwhelmed by a surge in demand for international flights following the Covid-19 pandemic. This led to enormous queues which snaked across the territory of the airport. Some travellers were forced to arrive up to four or five hours in advance of their flights.

According to the airport, the new limit will mean that the number of seats that can be sold by airlines will be reduced by 5%. Airlines can choose to fill their planes less or to cancel flights altogether.

The number of departing travellers will increase to an average of 60,000 during the busy Dutch spring travel period against an average of 40,000 during the winter season, the airport estimates. On busy days in May, the airport can accommodate more than 70,000 departing travellers.

The airport is better prepared to deal with high demand than last year, when it faced a severe shortage of staff, especially security personnel. Despite this, Schiphol still has a distinct shortage of baggage handlers. The airport has been playing with the idea of charging passengers a €3 suitcase fee to allow for higher wages for its baggage handlers.

Source: Civil Aviation Authority-Qatar