Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands plans to continue its maximum number of passengers per day restriction into October 2022.
After consultation with airlines, the airport has decided to set a maximum number of passengers per day for September and October 2022. In September, there will be a maximum of 67,500 local departures per day. On most days in that month, the airport’s capacity is expected to be comparable to the expected supply. The maximum number of local departures will be higher in October, at 69,500 per day. This period will also include the autumn holidays. Schiphol has informed airlines and travel organizations that in and around the two weeks of the autumn holidays, the expectation is that there will be an average of 3,500 too many local departing passengers.
The airport says the purpose of setting a maximum is to ensure the safety of passengers and employees and create a reliable process at the airport. Based on the capacity made available by Schiphol, the independent slot coordinator (ACNL) will consult with all airlines to ensure that the number of passengers is appropriate to the security capacity.
The maximum number of passengers per day will be slightly lower than in August due to the seasonal effect: travelers use more bins at security control after the summer because they wear more clothes, such as coats, hiking boots and vests. As a result, it takes a little longer to check all the hand baggage and the passengers.
Schiphol Airport also plans to have 200 new security guards starting in August, with another 80 starting in October. ‘Security coaches’ will be deployed to improve passenger flow in the terminal.
The airport states that keeping a maximum number of departing passengers helps cope with operational changes, such as delayed flight arrivals or departures. Virtually all parties at the airport are understaffed, and any unexpected changes can result in delays to the entire airport process at Schiphol. This has been the subject of extensive consultation with airlines recently.
