Dick Benschop, the Chief Executive Officer of the Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, resigned this week due to the long lines outside the terminal buildings.
The boss has finally taken responsibility for the situation in Amsterdam, which has been a nightmare for months with people standing hours in line or missing their flights.
The compensation scheme for the passengers that have missed their flights due to the airport management's incompetence was announced last month.
Schiphol Passenger Compensation Scheme Due To Airport Chaos
Even though management promised that the situation would improve, the situation was just as bad as it had been this past week.
Dick Benschop has resigned as the CEO of the airport.
Dick Benschop has announced his plans to step down as the CEO of Schiphol Airport. His decision came after yet another period where excessively long security lines led to thousands of passengers missing their flight this week.
Benschop told the Supervisory Board of his plans on Wednesday night. His decision was supported by the board, which has started to look for a successor. Benschop will remain in charge of the airport until his successor takes the reins.
After weeks of relative calm, long lines returned to the airport first on 5 September, and then again on 12 September. In the latter, which was this past Monday, passengers had to wait in lines of up to three hours to access the security checkpoints at Departures 1 and Departures 3. It resulted in the airport asking airlines to cancel flights, angering the carriers as the airport committed to improving operations and capacity. Queues were also lengthy on Tuesday and Wednesday, but not quite as bad as before.
“Due to the situation and the continuing bad news, the Supervisory Board has had very intensive contact with Schiphol’s management in recent months,” said Jaap Winter, the supervisory board chair for the airport. “Drastic measures were taken under Dick’s leadership to stabilize the situation at Schiphol. Improvements were made in the summer, but this was not enough. Further intervention in the capacity and in the management of security is necessary.”
The lines returned once security workers stopped receiving a summer bonus of 5.25 euros per hour, which was used to entice the guards to keep showing up for work during the school vacation period. More changes are needed to prevent further problems, said the FNV labor union.
They want the airport to take control of operations, instead of continuing to outsource it to security companies, temp agencies, and self-employed workers. They also want the airport to make scheduling more consistent, with workers offered a full eight-hour shift for each day they work, instead of being brought in to plug gaps.
Staff shortages in baggage handling and airport security caused massive lines at the airport in recent months. The chaos broke out on April 23, the first weekend of the May vacation, and persisted throughout the summer. Travelers spent hours waiting in line, often outside in the hot summer. Many missed their flights. Tens of thousands of suitcases were left behind, and there were even a few clashes between desperate travelers and overworked security guards.
In late May, Benschop faced criticism for being absent from the airport often while employees struggled to deal with the massive crowds. Benschop insisted that he was always available and said he wouldn’t resign.
It would be great to see more senior managers take responsibility for the decisions that were made in recent years, including the cost-cutting, the firing of workers, and outsourcing of key tasks.
Management decisions alone have caused the chaos at European airports, and so far, the higher-ups have continued to receive fat paychecks while passengers suffer and employees that keep the airports running earn peanuts.
It was the conclusion.
Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport boss Benschop has resigned and will leave his position as soon as a successor is found, following new chaos at the airport and long lines outside the terminal buildings.
It's not clear if this leadership change will make a difference to the airport. The demands of airport workers don't seem to be too far-fetched, but it appears the airport management was more interested in squeezing the last penny out of the operations Management puts workers at risk by not spending more money.
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