Missed flights? Travellers will be compensated, airports say

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Schiphol and Eindhoven airports have said they will compensate travellers who missed their flights because of the long queues to get through security this summer.

The deal will cover travellers who missed flights between April 23 and August 11 and who were at the airports in plenty of time to board, Schiphol group chief executive Dick Benschop said on Thursday evening.

Queues of several hours to get through passport control and security have led to hundreds of people missing planes, forcing airlines to cancel some services and move some flights to other airports this summer.

The airports will compensate travellers for costs which are not being met by their airline or their travel insurance – such as missed nights in a hotel which could not be cancelled.

So far the airport has had 1,500 claims and expects many more before the September 30 deadline.

Suitcases

Meanwhile several people have been in touch with Dutch News to say that their suitcases are still missing, following problems with baggage handling earlier in the summer break.

Reader Maria Fernanda’s bags went missing on her way from Amsterdam to Oslo, on a connecting KLM flight from San Fransisco on August 1.

‘Unfortunately I couldn’t travel light as we moving overseas including a baby,’ she told Dutch News. ‘My check-in luggage contained my medicines and other irreplaceable essential items for work and personal items such as my wedding dress.’

Another reader said he was still waiting for news about his missing luggage, which vanished at the end of June. ‘I have contacted KLM on numerous occasions to ask if they still have a backlog but not been able to get any response,’ he said.