DOn Pentecost Sunday, the Dutch airline KLM began bringing to Amsterdam many of its passengers who had been stranded in European countries the day before. At the same time, hard work is being done to rebook passengers who actually wanted to continue flying from Schiphol Airport on Saturday and missed their connections, said a KLM spokesman for the ANP news agency. The situation has eased somewhat, but it is not certain that all stranded people can be picked up on Sunday. “KLM pulls out all the stops to get these customers to their destination as quickly as possible.”
Due to significant delays in passenger handling at the Amsterdam hub, KLM decided on Saturday to cancel a number of scheduled flights from European cities from 5 p.m. According to the ANP, a total of 42 aircraft returned empty to Amsterdam. Affected passengers were sent home or accommodated in hotels.
A reporter from ANP, who wanted to fly from Stockholm to Amsterdam, reported chaotic conditions. KLM did not initially say how many passengers were affected. The company had previously warned that up to 50 flights per day may have to be canceled over the Pentecost weekend in order to keep the situation at Schiphol manageable.
Due to major problems with handling there, KLM temporarily drastically reduced ticket sales at the end of May. In the weeks before, the airport had already struggled with major problems due to a lack of staff in baggage handling and security. At the end of May, Schiphol presented an action plan to prevent the even greater chaos feared for the summer. Accordingly, the airport wants to recruit more staff and pay higher wages.
