Last weekend, Schiphol made an appeal to airlines to cancel flights or rebook flights to other airports. KLM canceled 47 flights, and some flights were rebooked to other airports. But many travelers can mainly count on significant delays. In the studio, Ties Joosten, author blue taleHow can you reach this. Gerard Sperenberg of the Consumers Association also explains what you as a consumer are entitled to and what you must do.

The crowds in Schiphol were associated not only with the crowds due to the May holiday, but also due to the massive shortage of staff in Schiphol.

Schiphol calls for force majeure and says it did everything in its power to prevent this, but according to union director Heri Hogenbaum, it is simply a matter of paying employees better wages, according to today’s report. to read in de Volkskrant†

According to writer Ties Joosten, the fact that field staff – including baggage handlers, but also security guards – are underpaid not only because of Schiphol, but also for KLM.

Schiphol wanted it to be a major airport, and KLM a major airline. This is while they are located in a small national sales market. That’s why a lot of effort has been made to offer the cheapest conversion.

A competitive race that is ultimately won over the salaries of heavy employer employees. Transfer travelers particularly benefit from this – not the Dutch traveller.

If your flight is cancelled, you are in any way entitled to on-site care, such as food and drinks at the airport while you wait. In addition, you are entitled to an alternative flight, or compensation for rebooking (if you have to do it yourself).

Getting your money back is also an option: you can choose if you want a new flight or if you prefer a refund.

You may also be entitled to compensation. This compensation can range from 250 to 600 euros. But it can be debated whether you are entitled to in this case. But since Schiphol requested the cancellation of flights and the airline complied, in this case the passenger must be compensated anyway. At least, that’s what Gerard Sperenberg of the Consumers Association says.

You must in any case inform your airline. If you cannot solve the problem with them, you can turn to an organization that can file a claim on your behalf. For example, the Consumer Association owns the extension Flight Claim Service created, but there are also alternative providers.

Going to court can also help: In this case, the judge will decide if you are a traveling victim who qualifies for compensation.

KLM has informed us that it will invite its customers whose flight has been cancelled.

Customers are requested to “contact us as soon as possible to offer them the best possible alternative and possibly file a claim for compensation directly. For more information, see Compensation and compensation for your delayed flight on KLM Royal Dutch Airlines– KLM

Below you can read KLM’s full response (eg. pdf). The article continues after the link below.

Then you have the same rights as above, and you are a little stronger, because you can claim the entire holiday. This means that the holiday package provider has a responsibility to offer an alternative to everything that cannot go forward. This applies to the hotel, your transfer and any other things booked.

Additionally, in the case of a vacation package, you must also be compensated for vacations not taken. Then you can, for example, get a refund for the days for which you paid for a hotel, but could not be there because of a later flight or it was canceled.

According to Ties Joosten, there is a good chance that similar situations will arise during peak summer weekends (five to six weekends from mid-July), when staffing shortages will not be resolved quickly.

You may have already booked your vacation, but if you haven’t (or if you can still rebook), you can try to avoid summer crowds by following these tips:

• Try to fly out of the busy period. Is this not working? Then you can see if you can fly from another airport;
• Consider booking a vacation package. You are in any case covered for the costs of your hotel, transfers and other parts of your group vacation;
• See also other transportation options. Perhaps you can go by train, bus or car. With such long waiting times, the plane may not be much faster, avoiding the dangers of situations like the one we saw last weekend.

Finally, it is always wise to take a close look at the conditions of your flight and the conditions of travel insurance and cancellation in relation to these types of situations. For example, some insurance companies also reimburse if you miss your flight due to standing in line for too long, but circumstances vary by insurer.

With these tips, you should be able to save yourself a lot of headaches and hopefully still be able to have as comfortable a vacation as possible.

After reading this article, do you feel that the airline or tour provider is not helping you, reimbursing you, or telling you as it should? Then of course you can always send an email to [email protected]† Who knows, we can help you!

You can read the response Schiphol gave us below in pdf format.