The Schiphol mess

Board Walker

How ever bad Dublin is, Amsterdam is far far worse! two weeks ago we had to arrive at AMS at 5.45 for the 930 to cork. it was quiet but when i came out of the lounge at 8.30 there was a Q from the entrance to Schengen area all the way to Pier E.

Roll on to this week, waiting for my baggage in LUX on Tuesday and an announcement came on that no baggage was sent with the flight and it would arrive on the 11PM. I filled in the online form and requested airport pick up. So i went in the following morning and they advised it had not arrived and that the Morning flight(there are or 4 a day from AMS to LUX) had been cancelled! I eventually picked up my Luggage yesterday when i was checking in for my flight home.

We were sat on the aircraft from LUX last night for 20 minutes before a stairs came, and the baggage was sat next to the aircraft for 30 minutes before it was loaded fo cork, the flight was delayed as a result and was loaded then by some ould boy that must have been on a mission to break as much stuff as possible. Did this guy not realise we could see him loading the baggage onto the conveyor id love to know?

Finally i couldn't believe what i saw in Cork. Rows and Rows of baggage. I went for a walk around while i was waiting for my own bag looking at the sea of baggage from Amsterdam. almost every bag i saw was EI/KLM with AMS on it. i did see one AF alright.

Is it people out from covid or is there some dispute with ground handling staff in AMS? LHR cant be too far behind as KLM sent an A330 over during the week empty to pick up hundreds of bags.

EchoIndia

Similar problems being experienced across Europe but AMS seems to be one of the worst. When a large hub airport is not working, the knock-on consequences there and elsewhere are huge.

(BTW when did people in Ireland start saying things like "we were sat"? What's wrong with "sitting"?)

Noxegon

A work colleague was there this morning and said that there was a delay boarding their connecting flight due to a software problem.

Locker10a

There’s also a shortage of tug drivers at AMS and frequent delays being experienced waiting for push back

L1011

Stacks of issues flying in/out of there last weekend. I would avoid connecting there at all costs this summer - it was bad enough for a direct passenger! Do not expect your bags to meet you at the final destination if connecting.

On arrival, they have reduced the signage to the normal Arrivals 1 entrance to the baggage hall so you get guided to Arrivals 2; quite some distance away

The baggage hall is absolute chaos - trolleys of bags everywhere, lines of bags between the belts and the belts themselves were mostly full of bags from previous flights, uncollected and uncleared

The belt had so little space to put out arriving bags that it eventually backed up and crashed. Took someone about ten minutes to realise and restart it.

On departure - Swissport hadn't set up the barriers properly so there were two different flights of people queuing at one checkin area. This was not sorted until about 2:20 before depature. Two people to check in a full A320.

55m queue for security, despite them having all the latest tech and no need to take anything out of luggage. If you travel very light your tray won't make it through the system as it'll be too light to be detected!

Further significant queue for the e-gates for Schengen exit, even though they take UK and some other non EEA passports. Gates just seemed super sluggish to respond between passport scan and turning on the camera

Flight was delayed marginally inbound. Loaded up quickly, but 7 pax missing. One of which had somehow got a bag aboard. Took the guts of an hour to get Swissport to bring back the baggage loader and offload that bag. It then started raining which reduces departure capacity so we had to wait for a slot.

donkey balls

I am glad I took my holidays back in Feb/Mar, Don't think I could go through the unknown of flying currently the hassle of turning up at mad o clock in the morning.

Getting through security to find out the flight cancelled etc.

https://static1.simpleflyingimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/rc20200914-schiphol-zomer-0247.jpg?q=50&fit=contain&w=960&h=&dpr=1.5

Noxegon

Ryanair's being Ryanair:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ireland/comments/vp8gj2/anyone_flying_to_amsterdam_this_monthcancelled/

kevinandrew

I have to applaud Ryanair on its messaging though, this isn’t their fault and they want everyone to know it.

Board Walker

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119283531#Comment_119283531

Thats gas.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119275593#Comment_119275593

The fact you even had to say that shows how pedantic you are.

asdfg87

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119283531#Comment_119283531

I think if all Airlines were as forthcoming with who is responsible we would make progress.

The DAA and Government spent 6 months telling us Dublin was ok when it was not amnd now we have the army.

The aviation industery seems to have got alot wrong in recent times.

irelandrover

I'm flying from Schiphol to Dublin on Friday and returning on Sunday. I am very excited about it.

Board Walker

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119287485#Comment_119287485

You sound it! :D

Don't check in bags and arrive 4 hours before on the way home.

screamer

Schipol has been awful to fly through long before covid. It’s not all covid related but they also couldn’t give two hoots. I mailed their customer service team to outline our awful experiences in waiting an hour and a half after arriving to get through the passport area and their reply was that’s your airline ground handling staffs fault!!!! No it wasn’t. Anyways after that it has earned the nickname shithol airport in our family and we will avoid it at all costs in future.

irelandrover

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119287733#Comment_119287733

I always found Schiphol great to fly through. Queues moved quickly, services were great. I used to fly from there 6-8 times a year as well.

samo

Fully agree… end of May

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119287733#Comment_119287733

end of May in torrential rain, people were left outside in T1 for hours which was awful, just to get into the terminal.

thankfully we were EI from T2, but still bag drop didn’t open till 2 hours before and was glacially slow, 10 from top of the queue it took 1 hour (!) to check bags in, 1 hour through security then, then rushed through passport control (they seem to decide in the moment if you can use the eGate with UK passport!) and the flight was 90 mins late, thankfully as it was a solid 20 min sprint to the gate..

Super stressful and definitely agree, avoid bag drops!

Board Walker

What happens if you arrive by train? Are you Shoed out the door?

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119287992#Comment_119287992

They have security on each of the escalators up from the plaza to the departures level. If there's an entry queue I presume they let people up in batches (as is done for security screening / boarding pass scanning also)

Tuesday_Girl

I'm flying over on the 15th which I'm not too worried about but back on the 18th, right after schools in north-holland close for for the summer holidays. That week has always been chaotic, can't imagine what it will be like this year. Last time I went through was in May and it took 1.5 hours to get through Security, I'd settle for that again.

Board Walker

It appears to be only getting worse over there!

Also if you have privium - You can skip every Q as normal inside the terminal but you still have to Q to get into the terminal.

Tabnabs

My elderly father flew (assisted passenger) with KLM recently and transited twice through AMS. His bags arrived with him on both legs. AMS was very busy but he was exceptionally well cared for by KLM staff. One of his flights was cancelled by KLM but he was immediately booked onto the next one (an extra three hours waiting time in AMS) and suffered no further inconvenience. It may not be pleasant, but the system can still work.

irelandrover

I flew yesterday.

I had loads of hassle getting to the airport due to train issues and got there 2,5 hours ahead of my flight. I was through security and passport control an hour later. It was well organised.

Saying that I only had carry on and bag drops looked horrible.

tabby aspreme

Take a look at Eindhoven as an alternative for getting out of NL, my daughter lives out there and was lucky to make a flight 6 weeks ago, she's home again in August and using Eindhoven to get out and Schipol going back

irelandrover

Eindhoven is worse than Schiphol at the moment based on mine and friends experiences. A friend flew from Eindhoven the day before I flew and took them 2.5 hours to get through security

Qprmeath

Me and my wife plus 3 kids did Dublin Schipol last Monday back yesterday, extremely good experience. Virtually no security queues or issues. Both flights delayed bout half hour due to late arrival of incoming aircraft but otherwise pretty normal summer travel experience.

Suckler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119467550#Comment_119467550

Had the same experience this week. Delay leaving Dublin as the handlers loaded wrong luggage that had to be retrieved. KLM staff were moaning about Dublin being the worst at the moment etc. etc. Had a longer delay again departing Schiphol and it was blamed on "staff issues that every airport was experiencing". The airport itself was pretty comfortable, longer that 'usual' queues for food in some places but no security queue delays.

Cian59

Anyone any recent experience connecting here? Seems to be the easiest for my connection but wondering is it as much of a mess for transfers?

L1011

Connecting avoids most of the direct passenger horror, but don't rely on your bags coming through immediately. If ever.

Most of the passenger delays there are at checkin, security (particularly) and Schengen exit passport control - none apply to a connection.

Suckler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119498469#Comment_119498469

Just allow plenty of buffer time between the expected landing time and your next flight.

Board Walker

I transferred on monday morning to Schengen area. I have privium so i was through in 2 minutes but the que was all the way back to the cosmetics shop.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119498469#Comment_119498469

Noxegon

My father missed his connection to LPI on Sunday due to KL938 being almost two hours late.

He was rebooked 24 hours later – spending almost 2 hours getting through inbound passport control to get to a hotel (which he had to sort himself) then another 2+ hours the next day getting through all formalities to get to his departure gate.

Needless to say he won't be booking another connection through AMS any time soon.

afatbollix

There was a very large trade show in Amsterdam at the weekend, Should quieten down again soon.

Went through from Taxi, Bag drop, Fast track to other side of passport control in 40 minutes today. Ya it's a pain but kinda expected these days.

Board Walker

Schiphol have publicly blames G4s on twitter saying they cant provide enough people. i think it was g4s anyway

Blut2

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/munster/arid-40960904.html

It sounds like its still an absolute disaster in AMS. Missing flights after arriving in the airport 3.5hrs early?

The summer peak travel season is over, and months more have passed to give time for hiring etc, theres no excuse for this to be ongoing.

Hotblack Desiato

G4S screwing up? Well I never 😝

Suckler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119616492#Comment_119616492

I've witnessed KLM staff twice huff and puff over Dublin delays, insinuating it doesn't happen anywhere else

Tabnabs

Schipol having to compensate for people missing their flights. Did Dublin do this?

https://www.schiphol.nl/en/page/compensation-of-costs-resulting-from-queues/

IQO

https://nieuws.schiphol.nl/dick-benschop-stelt-functie-ter-beschikking/

Schiphol's CEO resigned today - mostly because of the mess over the last couple of months:

"There is a lot of attention, and also criticism, for the way in which Schiphol tackles the problems and for my responsibility as CEO. I make room on my own initiative to give Schiphol the space to make a new start. I do not want the attention for my person to become an obstacle for Schiphol. 

The situation at Schiphol and what that means for our travelers and employees is close to my heart. I've done my very best, but we're not there yet. I do hope it gets better soon. I love Schiphol. Managing this company was a great honor for me."

Hotblack Desiato

Wonder if he'll fail upwards like the DAA guy.

jesus_thats_gre

Had the displeasure of transiting through Schipol on Friday evening. Arrived from the middle east and was transiting through to Dublin with hand luggage only.

The Transfer desks in the arrive terminal were closed. I was told to sit in a specific seat and told that someone would personally walk me up to the Transfer desk. Having waiting 45 mins, 10 of us were walked 25mins through the back corridors in the airport to another Transfer area where we were just dumped. there must have been 4,000 plus people queuing.

2 hours of queuing at security in order to transfer and I had only made it a third of the way. Priority lanes were closed so ended up chancing my arm about feeling unwell and was brought up to the front the queue - must have skipped 2,000 people in the queue.

Bag scanning was a complete mess. Took about 45 mins to get through ~15 people in the queue in front of me. 5 G4S staff members tending to one workstation to examine bags that needed an additional check. My bag sat there for 20mins while they rebooted the single terminal that was causing "issues". G4S staff sat around not giving the slightest damn and looked bemused when I asked whether they could physically search my bag a a fall back as opposed to waiting for an image to view.

Got to the gate in time and the flight was boarded largely on-time. Swissport staff weren't checking passport incidentally.

After boarding, and having sat there for ~45 mins, the pilot announced that the luggage from the arriving flight was still on the plan and the luggage for the departing flight hasn't been loaded yet. Proceeded to give passengers the choice to wait up to 4 hours for a luggage crew or depart with the arriving flights luggage and no departing flight luggage.

When they finally made the decision to abandon the luggate, they were unable to get a tractor to push the flight back. That took another 45 mins.

I have travelled extensively and experienced airports in developing economies. I can honestly say that I have never witnessed dysfunction like it anywhere else. Everything was a mess with the exception of that both airlines had control over.

.red.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119634203#Comment_119634203

The captain gave the passengers the option of departing for Dublin with a full cargo hold full of unaccompanied baggage from a other flight?

Maybe it was his last day and he didn't mind getting fired.

jesus_thats_gre

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119634237#Comment_119634237

He discussed it with passengers and debated whether he would have to made the decision in conjunction with passengers or whether Aer Lingus Ops would make a decision on it.

We departed Amsterdam with the luggage from the arriving flight on the plane. And zero luggage for departing passengers loaded. Well, except for 5 prams.

.red.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119634246#Comment_119634246

That sounds very strange.

No flights are meant to depart with unaccompanied baggage unless they're classed as expedited/rush bags and have gone thru additional screening.

sailing

Ordinarily yes, yet approval can be given. As for the fired comment above, this is a grown up forum.

screamer

Delighted to hear the CEO resigned, it has been a disgrace of an airport for a very long time. Shithole we call it, and we will never fly there again.

Qprmeath

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119634261#Comment_119634261

This happened in the madness of early summer in Dublin too more than once.

.red.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119634458#Comment_119634458

TBF, the first comment mentioned asking the passengers and never mentioned contacting the airline. That seemed a bit far fetched.

Taking off with a hold full of unaccompanied bags without the airlines permission but clearing it with the passengers would surely be grounds for dismissal, or very close to it.

Blut2

Thats an absolutely shocking report. How are they still so short staffed / badly operating heading towards the end of September? It was problematic in DUB and loads of UK airports in June but that was at least understandable, if frustrating. There can't be any excuse for ops still being so badly run now in late September though.

Hotblack Desiato

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119635135#Comment_119635135

You can be certain the crew were in contact with the airline throughout, the delay alone has a knock-on impact on other flights so they'd have to keep them up to speed on what was happening.

Caranica

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119634261#Comment_119634261

It happened friends flying from Schiphol to Dublin in July too. Their bags arrived the next day

bikeman1

And KLM are advertising on the radio here everyday. I keep saying to myself when I hear it. Those poor people “connecting to the world” don’t know what they are getting themselves into by transfer in AMS.

Very disappointing that the Dutch can’t get the problem sorted. Sounds like a bit of a work to rule going on with G4S.

Shiok

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119634203#Comment_119634203

By all accounts, logistics descended into complete chaos.

Their daily passenger cap, already lowered in July, has now been reduced by a further 18% and will be in place until at least November.

Unless over the age of 60, experiencing mobility issues or heavily pregnant, no one appreciates the arsehole in the queue who deems himself/herself more important than the other 2000 people in front of them, all with their own flight connections.

All for helping anyone who may have a gravely ill parent at the end of their journey, are best man at a wedding in eight hours etc but not someone who walks past others, faking an illness, simply to make it home for his/her Friday night.

Plenty of people are used to not having to queue at airports, myself included, yet thankfully not many think they are entitled to it.