The Schiphol mess

VG31

It's a shame as Amsterdam used to be a fairly good airport. It's ridiculous that they're still having issues like this in September.

Frankfurt despite not being a particularly pleasant airport to connect in, is actually a much better option than AMS now. Zürich is the best major European airport for connections IMO.

DavP

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

Was also there last week having previously sworn never again after a disaster earlier in the summer.

If I had known it was that easy to skip the queue, would have tried the old batting eyelashes routine! 

Fabio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119641313#Comment_119641313

I remember raving about Schipol and how easy it was to transfer through. I was transferring through there in August and it was very bad. Long queues, place was dirty, it just felt awful. Hopefully they can get it back into something workable.

Tabnabs

If you put #schipol into twitter you see that it's still a nightmare, they haven't got it sorted yet. The security queues can be hours long.

Del2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119671317#Comment_119671317

They stopped paying the security staff a summer bonus of ~€5 extra at the start of Sep. That's why it's gone to crap, loads of security security staff left.

hynesie08

I'm looking at flights in November, The options are a 90 minute transfer in either schilpol or CDG, should I even be considering schipol?

Locker10a

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119701143#Comment_119701143

Pre-pandemic I’d have said go AMS 100% … but now….

.red.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119701143#Comment_119701143

I wouldn't go near either with a 90 minute transfer. I'd be hoping for 2 hours minimum.

Only takes a small delay on the inbound flight to turn into a big slot delay on the outbound and then you've missed your connection. Both airlines are pretty good for rerouting if that happens tho.

Van.Bosch

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119701143#Comment_119701143

Is there no other option?

Blut2

Before 2022 I'd also have always said AMS. As it is now, if theres no lengthier connection option than 90min at either airport, I'd probably book based on the availability of the next flight to your destination after your intended one. Account for the worst case scenario of if you have to get rerouted to the next one.

Noxegon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119701547#Comment_119701547

That's what I was going to say. Where are you trying to get to?

titan18

Went through there Monday night and it wasn't too bad, but they really need better signage. Its not very clear at all where to go when you arrive (I was able to go straight to security rather than check in or drop bags), and there's not enough staff on to ask questions to on where you need to go.

Chris_5339762

I connected Non-Schengen to Schengen in 30 minutes the other day. I have to connect Non-Schengen to Non-Schengen in a few weeks time and I only have an hour but no security or passport checks.

I think if you're a non-EU citizen then its pretty awful and if you have hold luggage its pretty awful. But, touch wood, if you're travelling with hand luggage only it's not TOO bad and KLM are very good for rerouting.

Board Walker

Got screamed at again on Saturday morning going through the Privium gate into Schengen. Oh well!

Chris_5339762

Just to keep people updated - I few Cork - Brussels and back via Amsterdam the other day... hand luggage only. 10 minutes delay (afternoon/evening) getting through Schengen passport control both ways. All flights ontime and seemingly no staffing problems.

I did have to re-route on the way home due to KLM cancellations but I think they are because of the passenger cap. The cap seems to be (partly) working anyway and so far I've never had any problems connecting. But I wouldn't hand-luggage connect less than an hour as it stands.

yerwanthere123

Was thinking of taking a couple of days away to Amsterdam at the end of October, am I mad to be thinking of flying into Schiphol at the moment? There'd be no transfers involved and I'd only have hand luggage. Was thinking of booking the 6am flight from Cork and then returning on the (roughly) 8.30pm flight two or three days later. I know I'd have to arrive at the airport 4 hours before my flight. Could I still run into problems and should I just forget it in the current climate?

Officer999

I flew into Schiphol airport from Dublin with KLM on Saturday just gone and it was a total shambles upon leaving the aircraft. The worst I have ever seen.

We landed at approx 13:30. Upon entering the terminal from the plane there must have been a one to two hour queue for the exit towards baggage claim. It was backed all the way back to the Heineken bar all along the duty free shops. And they were only letting small groups through, say 10-15 people at a time. And there was hundreds of people queuing.

And once you made it through that, you had to queue at passport control. I queued at the EU passport self check scanner which took almost an hour.

I have never queued this long to actually get out of an airport before!

Mumser

My son is flying from Schipol to Dublin next week on an early evening flight. Hand luggage only. He has his graduation v early the following morning. It’s a once in a lifetime event so we’re nervous of either his Ryanair flight being cancelled at short notice or his not making the flight due to delays at Schipol.

I’m keeping an eye on the Schipol app and seeing some of the Ryanair evening flights being cancelled last week. It looks like the cancellations only appear on the app on the day. I can’t get any information from the airline. Does anyone know how long before a flight are Ryanair notifying of cancellations?

Also, am I right in understanding it is best to get to Schipol 4 hours before departure even travelling with hand luggage? Even if the airlines email says different.

Many thanks

Board Walker

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119758734#Comment_119758734

If you fly back on the late evening flight you will have no problems. I havent had to que once coming home on the evening flight and i have flown about 14 times since last September. Now i do have privium but there were no ques all the same.

Caranica

In a few weeks I'm connecting through Schiphol, non Schengen to non Schengen. Can do hand luggage only, does that mean I should be ok and not have to go through security? I've a short connection on the outbound leg (55 minutes)

Board Walker

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119759361#Comment_119759361

Yep, you will be fine.

yerwanthere123

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119759197#Comment_119759197

Thanks Board Walker. How was it flying into Schiphol, particularly if it was an early morning flight? Were you waiting 2+ hours like @Officer999 above? Still not sure whether to chance it, and if the worry of missing a flight or a cancellation would hang over me.

Officer999

I actually had a dog with me in a cabin bag so I skipped the queue to be honest.

I got a lot of dirty looks but I couldn’t queue 2 hours just to queue for another hour at passport check with a dog.

I flew back to Dublin on the Sunday and it wasn’t as bad. I already had my boarding pass so didn’t need to go to the check in desk. Security took about an hour. There is a priority lane for security so it might be worth paying extra for that if your worried about missing a flight

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119762696#Comment_119762696

Board Walker

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119615305#Comment_119615305

Amsterdam Dance Event this week through to Monday also.

elefant

There are school holidays in the Netherlands at the moment too.

ASOT

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119764337#Comment_119764337

How did the passport check with the dog go?

Im travelling on the 29th of November from Valencia and need to do a self transfer to catch a flight to Doha with Qatar.

Self transfer time is around 3 hours, hoping this will be enough to get through and check in again with my dog.

May book a hotel just incase I miss and have to be rebooked to the next day.

Hotblack Desiato

How is bringing a dog into the passenger cabin allowed?

If this is the new normal I'm never flying again.

Tabnabs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119774500#Comment_119774500

If you've a little handbag dog, all airlines allow it.

Blut2

Its always been the case too, nothing "new normal" about it.

Locker10a

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119774500#Comment_119774500

Yep nothing new it’s been common in many countries and many airlines for decades

Officer999

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119773786#Comment_119773786

Absolutely no issue. I was at a self scanner so didn’t have to speak with anyone

But it wasn’t a connecting flight like your planning. Is the dog going in the cabin for the Doha flight? I know KLM are strict with long haul flights and having a dog in the cabin

Hotblack Desiato

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119774618#Comment_119774618

Disgusting.

Just another example of how everyone in society is obliged to kowtow to the selfish desires of dog owners. Ugh. I've stepped in more than enough shíte and endured more than enough nighttime barking to last me a lifetime.

.red.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119780896#Comment_119780896

I don't think there's any chance of you stepping in sh1te in the cabin, unless there's a stag or hen going to Liverpool or Malaga who've had a few too many.

Cats can go in the cabin too, there was even a pet hedgehog flew out of Cork with its owner a few years back, and that's not a wind up.

There was a very lost turtle went on a Ryanair to the Canaries, again in the cabin.

Plenty of pets fly with their owners, no harm in it. Most other passengers won't even notice cos they sit quietly in their little soft travel bags happy out.

Locker10a

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119781518#Comment_119781518

By god you’d have a far far more peaceful enjoyable flight with almost any animal over some of the humans who’ve unfortunately been let onto planes over the years…

IngazZagni

I'm almost certain Ryanair don't allow small dogs on board now. They may have trialled it at some stage. So the "all airlines" allow it is incorrect.

Blut2

I've traveled on plenty of flights with animals in the cabin and they've never caused any issues.

Human babies that scream for hours on end on the other hand... Now theres something that happens all the time and should be banned in an ideal world.

Hotblack Desiato

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119781518#Comment_119781518

The world has gone mad, and your assertion that there's no harm in it is not shared by me.

Tabnabs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119782537#Comment_119782537

Small dogs, no, assistance dogs yes.

Board Walker

I'm flying in tonight but i imagine at 7.30pm itll be quiet.

I usually drive to Arnhem but i couldn't get a car and there are rail works in Utrecht so god knows what time ill get in

Tabnabs

Was looking to take a work trip to Amsterdam in a couple of weeks and when I went to book the flights all evening flights to Dublin with KLM, Aer Lingus and Ryan Air have suddenly disappeared. Schiphol are obviously still having to cull flights to keep passenger numbers down even this late in the year. Beware if you are taking evening flights out of Schiphol!

The irony is that up to about a de axe ago Schipol was the very model of a well organised busy hub. It had a great reputation going back to the days my Dad would go through it in business trips in the 60s & 70s, then I went through it the odd time in the 80s, 90s etc, and found likewise. My last experience was good too even though it involved missing a connection, which was very well handled.

My KLM flight from Lima (a good airport) departed an hour late, meaning I missed Dublin connection from Schipol. Was travelling in a group, the staff at Schipol prioritised elderly people into earlier connecting flights back to Ireland etc as there were some spare seats on other services. I and 3 others were asked to stay overnight at a very pleasant airport hotel, wined & fined & given a shopping voucher and booked onto a flight in the morning, all arranged with a smile in jig time.

Since that I have heard bad reports about the airport having gone into a state of disorganisation, unpleasantness, chaos. Obviously the airport’s movements simply exceeded its capacity to handle.

Board Walker

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119827495#Comment_119827495

Everything in cork seems operating as Normal. and at that... Cheaper

Tabnabs

Travelled through Schiphol, out and back this week. No great problems with queuing. Certainly nothing to put you off using the airport. Noticed that quite a lot of the food retailers were shut, including the (in)famous Murphy's Pub. Other food vendors seemed to be operating curtailed hours. Not sure what is going on there, as shopping was in full swing?

Business lounge (Aspire) was mobbed, absolutely no chance of getting in there on-spec, you had to make a booking well in advance.

But as long as they don't cancel your flight, Schiphol seems to be back in action.

Board Walker

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119890212#Comment_119890212

Murphys has been shut since before the pandemic. the area was being used for Covid testing for the chinese flights which has stopped now and the airport is busy as ever so i dont know why they wont open it back up again.

Chris_5339762

From what I've seen on various Facebook groups, it seems to be ok recently now that we're well into the off season. That said, a holiday-day seems to still cause problems far and away over what you might expect.

Tabnabs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119893469#Comment_119893469

Covid testing for Chinese passengers is still going on there, a lot of signage in that area for it. Must be why the pub is still closed.

Blut2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119899078#Comment_119899078

Not far until the Christmas season in December now though. I'd be wary of booking flights through AMS during December personally anyway given their performance in the year to date.

Chris_5339762

Yeah me too, but I did have flight booked and of course they've rescheduled them a little and I've to do a Schengen to Non Schengen connection in an hour which will be a riot. Whats worse is that according to Flightradar, it could well be the exact same plane for both flights too.

Board Walker

I see Privium have stopped taking new members. Privium basic was a hot seller for a while.

DubDani

We went through Schiphol twice over the XMAS Holiday period, and I have to say it was a very positive experience, comparable to how it was before Covid.

Luggage, Immigration, Check-in etc. all worked smoothly with no delays or Issues.