Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport Asks Airlines to Cancel Flights

Delays and cancellations have been the bane of airlines’ existence this spring and summer. Now one airport is again asking carriers to cancel flights.

Amsterdam’s Schiphol International Airport on Monday asked airlines to cut back the number of flights at one of its terminals to help alleviate the continuing congestion and chaos, according to the financial publication Barron’s.

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Schiphol is the fourth-largest airport in Europe and home to KLM Airlines, one of the largest carriers in the world, so its volume can be overwhelming at times. While most airlines are short-staffed, officials said it’s actually airport security that is lacking in workers at the moment.

“There is a shortage of security personnel and the number of waiting travelers is increasing, especially in Departures 3 (terminal),” Schiphol Airport said in a statement. As a result, airport personnel has asked “several airlines with passengers departing from Departures 3 to cancel flights (Monday) between 4:00 pm (1400 GMT) and 11:00 pm (2100 GMT).”

One person tweeted that the situation is the worst he’s seen.

#Schiphol caos is the worst I’ve seen in more than 40 years flying pic.twitter.com/s8AtuzWpkx

— Jesús Izquierdo (@jesusizdo) September 12, 2022

“Employees in the terminal are doing everything they can to ensure that everyone can travel today. But unfortunately, there is a chance that travelers will miss their flight due to long waiting times,” the airport said.

It’s not the first time that officials have made such a request. In May of this year, Schiphol also asked airlines to trim their flight schedules to pare down the number of passengers passing through the airport.