Schipol never again
Discussion
I have regularly used KLM and enjoyed flying with them but today has put me off them forever. Transit queue of three hours, majority of planes delayed. Generally the place is a disaster. This all stemming from ground crew holding a surprise strike. If KLM has any balls it will sack the lot of them.
That's not good. Before Covid I used to fly every 4 to 6 weeks for work and after a series of disasters at T5, I started using Schipol as my hub. I've had the odd delay before but no more than 15/20 minutes.
Any issues at passport control? That's my biggest concern when I start moving again. The EU line was always pretty fast but with tight connection times, the non EU line worries me.
Any issues at passport control? That's my biggest concern when I start moving again. The EU line was always pretty fast but with tight connection times, the non EU line worries me.
Shambler said:
I have regularly used KLM and enjoyed flying with them but today has put me off them forever. Transit queue of three hours, majority of planes delayed. Generally the place is a disaster. This all stemming from ground crew holding a surprise strike. If KLM has any balls it will sack the lot of them.
Won’t sacking “the lot of them” make it worse plus it’s likely illegal..Look at the chaos we’ve had in Manchester and some other U.K. airports trying to get cheap employees at short notice as flights have picked up post pandemic. Plus then there’s all the security clearance, airside passes, driving licences etc etc
toon10 said:
Any issues at passport control? That's my biggest concern when I start moving again. The EU line was always pretty fast but with tight connection times, the non EU line worries me.
That's a bugbear of mine - travel to the EU and you have to use the non-EU passport queue which is normally a disaster area, when you come back you would think there would be an UK Passport queue and a non-UK but oh no, lets lump all the EU travellers in with the UK. Stansted, looking at you and your chaos.tr7v8 said:
Dutch unions are surprisingly powerful & bolshi. On a par with French ones but I was shocked to hear that when working with an NL customer.
Yep, one of the reasons why ISE moved to Barcelona which must have cost Amsterdam multi millions in lost revenue and customers when the hotels and other associated services are factored in.Edited by untakenname on Monday 25th April 15:53
toon10 said:
Any issues at passport control? That's my biggest concern when I start moving again. The EU line was always pretty fast but with tight connection times, the non EU line worries me.
The last time I went through Schipol I ended up with a 30 minute connection to a far away gate to boot - But the attendants at the border gates were very proactive in pulling those forward that needed to be. Amazingly my luggage made the connection too.I find Schipol as least as good as anywhere, but when it does go wrong, it goes wrong big time.
DeejRC said:
As a general rule, if you haven’t found AMS an absolute a
hole of a place, then you haven’t used it regularly enough.
Out of interest, where do you class as good? I went through Schiphol ever week for about 2 years without many issues except the infamous Gatwick drone weekend. For me the only airports that are smoother are the tiny one's like Southampton.hole of a place, then you haven’t used it regularly enough. RizzoTheRat said:
Out of interest, where do you class as good? I went through Schiphol ever week for about 2 years without many issues except the infamous Gatwick drone weekend. For me the only airports that are smoother are the tiny one's like Southampton.
I’ve flown in and out of Munich quite a lot of times and it’s always been goodUse to travel quite a bit to Holland some years ago, on more than one occasion my return flight to UK got cancelled meaning hours of queuing to get a hotel for the night (with no overnight bag just a laptop).
Also, KLM after losing my bags on a holiday to the US and claiming they had delivered them to my hotel and weeks of hassle - never again.
Also, KLM after losing my bags on a holiday to the US and claiming they had delivered them to my hotel and weeks of hassle - never again.
I was just checking my app and my experience has been fantastic with KLM. I've used T5 many times but haven't had many positive experiences so always use Schipol now. I'd estimate maybe 4 or 6 of these flights have been through CDG. Again, never again!
I think I've had a handful of delays in the flights below but again, only 15 minutes or so. I've never had a flight cancelled. My last time at Heathrow was when Europe had an issue with air traffic control switching from night mode to day mode. Not Heathrow's fault but the way BA treat us was scandalous. Been with KLM ever since.
I think I've had a handful of delays in the flights below but again, only 15 minutes or so. I've never had a flight cancelled. My last time at Heathrow was when Europe had an issue with air traffic control switching from night mode to day mode. Not Heathrow's fault but the way BA treat us was scandalous. Been with KLM ever since.
Sitting here just now. Total nightmare of a day. Arrived at 0930 and cleared security and got to the gate at 1400. Missed flight of course. Almost no KLM staff. Bought my own tickets for a later flight just to get home. Will try and locate luggage and claim extra flight cost tomorrow!
Well after waiting another 3 hours to actually leave the airport. I had to book a hotel in Rotterdam as the hotel prices in Amsterdam went mental. Finally received a text from KLM 8 hours after flight was cancelled to say they had rebooked my flight and were offering me a 15 euro voucher for food. Heading back to Schiphol now and dreading it
All airports are chaos at the moment, Manchester 5 weeks ago non of the self service passport controls were working, Heathrow 4 weeks ago 2 hours for baggage to arrive, Istanbul 4 weeks ago 4 staff at security for about 10 flights arriving at the same time.
Got Istanbul again in 8 days then onto the dreaded Manchester which am sure will still be utter chaos.
Got Istanbul again in 8 days then onto the dreaded Manchester which am sure will still be utter chaos.
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