Amsterdam Airport Schiphol limits the number of passengers in July and August

The management of the Amsterdam-Schiphol international airport has decided to limit the number of passengers taking off from the Netherlands during the months of July and August to avoid crowds.

The measure responds to the lack of security personnel, and will be especially noticeable between July 7 and 31: some 13,500 daily travelers will see their flights cancelled.

Within two weeks, the number of those affected will be announced in August at the second busiest aerodrome in the European Union, after the French Charles de Gaulle.

Dick Benschop, chief executive of Royal Schiphol Group, the airport operator, says demand this summer will exceed "the capacity we can handle, and we must be responsible to passengers and employees."

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In practice, Benschop's statements will result in the cancellation "of between tens and hundreds of flights on the days of greatest congestion in July."

In his opinion, the burden and the inconvenience that it entails should be shared equally between the airlines.

That is why I invite you to use other Dutch airports, including Eindhoven, Rotterdam-The Hague, Groningen and Maastricht.

According to calculations presented this Thursday by those responsible for Schiphol, in July up to a maximum of 67,500 travelers will be able to leave daily on their way to their destinations.

In August they will do the same about 72,500.

The Dutch government is the majority shareholder, and the infrastructure and finance ministers are in daily contact with Benschop.

Schiphol's problems are similar to those of other European international airports, and this May there have already been flight cancellations.

Airlines and travel agencies must deal with finding another trip for their passengers, and the Turkish-Dutch company Corendon announced Thursday that it will move 150 flights to Rotterdam-The Hague.

For its part, the Dutch low-cost company Transavia - which belongs to the Air France-KLM group - will put fewer seats on sale from July 7 and does not rule out canceling reservations.

KLM and Transavia, in addition, point to Schiphol as responsible for the financial consequences of the measures adopted for this summer.

"It is not possible that the user should systematically pay for the problems of the aerodrome," KLM said in a statement.

The Dutch General Association of Travel Companies (ANVR,

in its Dutch acronym) has decided to take Schiphol to court.

He requests compensation for the losses that these problems will cause, and his spokespersons indicate that many of his partners may go bankrupt.

Its director, Frank Oostdam, has described as "unacceptable that an airport of this caliber does not have its personnel policy in order".

To all this is added the fact that the costs of hotels or excursions may not be reimbursed.

The lack of security personnel suffered in May was preceded by a strike by the teams that collect the suitcases.

The reason was the same: shortage of troops.

Last Saturday, the airport organized a fair to attract workers to which 1,500 people signed up, when the average number for these calls is usually around 300. They are also looking for cleaners, bus drivers and porters, among others.

Although this summer a bonus of 5.25 euros per hour will be added to the salary agreed in each case, the new hires will not be able to avoid the announced problems.

Not only must they be let loose in a new job, but they must have the approval of the Government for security reasons.

And that official statement, with the subsequent investigation, can last several weeks.

Secondly,

The Dutch Executive seeks a structural reduction of the flights that depart from Schiphol, due to the noise and pollution they produce.

In the plans that he is considering, a possible reduction of up to 10% appears in the 500,000 annual takeoffs now accounted for.

Final figures are not set yet.