A stable autumn holiday 2022 at Schiphol
More than 2.6 million travellers flew from, to or through Schiphol during the autumn holiday (14-30 October 2022). The average waiting time at the security check during this period was 14 minutes. The waiting time was under 60 minutes on almost all days, with a maximum of 90 minutes at one peak moment. In the autumn holiday of 2021, there were 2 million travellers, and in 2019, before the pandemic, that figure was more than 3 million. The most popular destinations among departing travellers were London, Istanbul and Barcelona.
Schiphol says that these are the first steps towards further improvement. The airport's top priority is to offer travellers a predictable and reliable travel experience. The second priority is for the maximum number of travellers to be increased. Improvements have been made recently to ensure a smooth security check process, and the first signs of progress could be seen during this autumn holiday.
In addition to limiting the number of departing travellers, Schiphol has taken other measures to try and tackle the queues resulting from staff shortages. Schiphol office employees have been deployed to help travellers and answer their questions, and there are security coaches at security to help travellers at the hand baggage check. Furthermore, travellers are being asked not to arrive at the airport too early – no more than 4 hours before their flight.
100 million euros
Schiphol is investing around 100 million in measures to help solve the issue of staff shortages, including at the security companies. In close collaboration with the unions and security companies, a social package was recently agreed that will significantly improve the terms and conditions of employment for security officers at Schiphol. As of November, security officers working at Schiphol will receive a wage increase of 2.50 euros per hour, in addition to the labour market supplement. Furthermore, their rosters and rest areas are being improved.
Meanwhile, Schiphol is working with the security companies on a structural solution for the shortage of staff. Joint recruitment campaigns will soon be launched, which will see the five security companies operating at Schiphol working closely together to hire more security officers.
Above is an overview of the waiting times at Departures 1 – the busiest departure hall in the autumn holiday. On the vertical axis is the waiting time, on the horizontal axis the date.