Busy Schiphol this weekend is not so bad: ‘We can’t complain’ | Amsterdam
Backgroundthe crowds at Schiphol were not too bad on Saturday and Sunday, certainly the previous two weekends. There was no mention of long.
In arrival hall 1, Frank and Ellen Raijer are eating a sandwich. All in all, it took them an hour to get past customs and the baggage claim. “It went well,” says Frank Raijer. “We were lucky that we had to wait a little longer on the way. The luggage was already on the belt when we arrived.”
There was a delay due to a closure somewhere at Schiphol. “That was funny,” says Ellen Raijer. “A boy from Schiphol in front and the whole group behind him. Later things went fairly quickly at customs. We cannot complain.”
The couple is from the United States. On the outward journey, two weeks ago, they were also lucky. “We flew very early then,” says Frank Raijer. “Later we laze about the chaos that has ensued. We were just there for that.”
They still have a car ride to Goeree-Overflakkee ahead of them this Sunday morning. “Another hour,” the man says. “That’s why we first have a quiet sandwich.”
Smooth arrival
A little further on, an elderly couple is waving a Dutch flag. It is grandparents who are waiting for Jeremy Veenema’s family. “Have you been standing here long?” asks Veenema. “We’ve only been here for one second,” his father says.
Veenema’s arrival went just as smoothly. “It went smoothly. We were through in fifteen minutes. It was very busy here on the way there.”
And away they are, back to Amersfoort.
Outside a group of young women are smoking a cigarette in the sun, all their suitcases already gathered. Did it work out for them too? “We have yet to leave, but it was so busy inside. We are even recovering,” says Warda (from The Hague, who prefers not to be featured in the newspaper with her.
The group of friends are flying to Turkey in four hours, so they are quite on time. “Fortunately, we don’t have to go to departure hall 1 of 2. That’s where KLM is located. Departure halls 3 and 4 are for Africa and Asia. They are used to it.”
Rows out
Departure hall 1 is fairly busy, but it looks like nothing with the previous two weekends, when the lines of people stood out. Lindsey Dorigo from Breda stands in a row with her husband and child in front of the security check† Their luggage has already been checked in. “There was a line, but it kept going,” she says. “It took us three quarters of an hour. We thought that was not too bad.”
Just to be sure, they were at Schiphol four hours before departure, which is normally an hour or two. “We expected it to be much worse,” Dorigo says. “We’ll get there.”
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