Icelandair has had enough: so they’ve sent their own staff to help at Schiphol

As the summer chaos continues, Icelandair is now sending its own employees to carry and unload luggage at Schiphol Airport.

Passengers are not the only ones frustrated at Schiphol this summer — airlines are also fed up with the Dutch airport’s chaotic conditions. So, Icelandair has (rightly) taken the matter into its own hands. 💪

Wants to avoid delays 

Why has the airline started shipping its own staff to the Netherlands’ main airport? It’s simple — to avoid delays. Now that’s an original thought! Schiphol, take notes. 🤓 

We’re all sick and tired of hearing about the airport chaos at this point, especially because it doesn’t seem like it’s getting better at all. So it’s refreshing to come across some positive news from people trying to find solutions! 

READ MORE | Chaos at Schiphol: why the biggest Dutch airport is struggling so much

Until now, passengers themselves have had to find solutions to avoid delays on their part. 

Some took to jumping onto the luggage band to retrieve their bags, others tried showing up as much as six hours in advance to catch a flight (of course, now you’re only allowed in a pitiful four hours in advance, but you get the point). 

What else can be done?

Schiphol has blamed this year’s summer chaos on staff shortages, after two years of very limited traffic due to the you-know-what. 😷

It’s still a mystery to most why it’s so difficult for Schiphol to simply ✨ hire more staff ✨ but until we get a better explanation we’ll have to settle with creative outsourcing solutions like the one offered by Icelandair… 🤷🏽‍♂️

READ MORE | WTF?! Schiphol ranked among top 20 best airports in the world

You’d think a big, busy airport like Schiphol would be well prepared to handle, well, flights and travellers. But alas, so far, Shiphol’s own solutions to the problem have consisted of:

  • Handing out free stroopwafels in the lines 🤘🏽
  • Setting up tents so people don’t have to wait in the rain 😎
  • Blaming the fact that nobody wants to work for them 🥲

So, needless to say, we’re welcoming Icelandair’s helping hand, if that’s what it takes to not miss flights… 

How have you experienced the Schiphol drama this summer? Tell us in the comments!

Feature image:Depositphotos

Accuracy, clarity, and a touch of humour — that’s DutchReview. Read our editorial mission.

Juni Moltubak
Juni Moltubak
Juni moved to the Netherlands after realizing how expensive tuition fees in the UK are, and never regretted her choice of studying in The Hague. After three years of Political Science, she is ready for a new adventure — an internship at DutchReview! When you don’t see her typing on her laptop she can be found strolling around Haagse Bos or sitting in her lovely garden scrolling through interior design TikToks.

1 COMMENT

  1. It’s not such a mystery as to why they can’t hire enough staff. They have a xenophobic policy of not hiring anyone who has lived in the Netherlands for less than 8 years with no more than a 6 month gap. That excludes an awful lot of young people who might be interested. And a significant amount of others, myself included.

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