Schiphol expects heavy crowds at the start of the May holidays | Economy

From Friday, an average of 70,000 people will depart from Schiphol per day. That is 10 percent more than last year during the May holidays. “On peak days, the number of passengers departing is well above 80,000,” the airport reports.

Schiphol has purchased new scanners to check departing passengers for prohibited objects. They work slightly faster than the previous generation, says Schiphol. They are also better, meaning fewer people have to be searched manually afterwards, which also saves time.

Two years ago, chaotic scenes arose at the airport at the beginning of the May holidays because there were insufficient staff and resources to manage the large passenger flows. Schiphol then decided to allow fewer flights to depart for a certain period. More staff were also recruited and working methods were adjusted. Last year everything went a lot smoother.

Nevertheless, the airport expects that people will have to wait longer on days when it is really busy. This applies not only on the days when people leave, but also when they return en masse.

The May holiday starts on April 27. Officially there is one week of May holiday, but much more often it is two weeks. The Ministry of Education advises that this be extended until May 12.