Many troubled travelers at Schiphol: “We are not going” Inland

It is clear for Geneviève Bakker and Johan Kist from Schagen, who would fly to New York at 10.40 for a four-day city trip. “We are not going,” says Kist. “Because if you sit there, you probably can’t go back when you want to.” They don’t mind very much. “We’re going another time,” he says matter-of-factly. Bakker understands Trump’s decision. “I think it is the only right decision. The Netherlands does far too little. In two weeks it will be here just like in Italy. ”

Medicines

American Bobby, who lives in the Netherlands and prefers not to give his surname and place of residence, also wants to postpone his flight to Las Vegas at 12:30 pm. “I use medicines and don’t have enough with me if I have to stay there for thirty days.” It is a great disappointment that his holiday of more than two weeks can not continue now, but on the other hand he thinks that Trump does not reach his decision until late. “He should have come with this much earlier, he is far too slow.”

Further down the line from KLM Travel & Services are the Canadian William Josse and his wife. They only arrived in the Netherlands after traveling through Africa. The plan was to stay in “your beautiful country” for a week, but the couple is now thinking about going back home. Josse fears that Canada’s borders will also close after Trump’s decision. “If we had to stay here for thirty days, it would be a big problem for us.”

Rebooking

Chiara Bracke from Groningen just put her boyfriend on a plane to Guatemala. She travels after him next week, but flies via Atlanta in the US. “I have to rebook that now. Fortunately, I can still go through Panama, so it is not such a disaster. ” Whether she is afraid of the coronavirus? “Nobody is infected yet in Guatemala, so I think I’m better there than in the Netherlands.”

Americans

Although the entry ban in the United States does not apply to American travelers, there are still Americans at Schiphol who want to return home immediately. Like three passengers who just arrived on Thursday morning for a long weekend in Amsterdam. “Even though we are residents of America, we don’t want to take the risk of not going back,” said Carin Reynolds, who would attend a rowing event on the Amstel with her husband and close friend.

They are in line at the KLM service point and have just passed around a bottle of disinfectant hand gel. “We heard the news during our flight,” said friend Mike Totte. They dare not trust that they can return home on Monday as planned. “What is today may be different tomorrow.”

The three are not the only ones who want to go home. “Other friends are going back too,” Reynolds said.

Jacob Evans from Utah, USA, and his friend woke up at their Amsterdam hotel on Thursday morning with Trump’s message. After seeing the video message from the White House, they immediately decided to pack their belongings and go to Schiphol to see if they can return instead of Saturday. Their stay in the Netherlands, part of a European trip, lasted exactly one night, because at the airport it appears that they can just join the 11.15 am flight to Salt Lake City.

Evans does not want to comment on what he thinks of the entry ban due to the corona virus. “My main concern now is mainly to come home.”

Tal Howard and his daughter are also afraid to wait until their scheduled return flight on Saturday. They hope to fly back to Chicago and Boston on Thursday before, according to Howard, “even more confusion and uncertainty arises” due to Trump’s “sudden” decision.

At the airport, many – mostly Asian – travelers wear mouth masks, some with diving goggles to protect themselves against the corona virus.

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