Schiphol wants to recruit eight hundred extra security guards to work at the airport before April 2023. These are needed for the airport to function as before. Currently, staff shortages at security companies are forcing airlines to cancel flights.
In an action plan presented to airlines, where financial time previously reported, the airport reports that it has started a recruitment campaign with five security companies active at Schiphol. On January 16, Schiphol will decide how many passengers it can handle in May and the summer months.
Shortages of security personnel have regularly led to long queues and canceled flights at Schiphol this year. Until March, airlines are still forced limit the number of passengers boarding at Schiphol due to holding. KLM estimated the costs of all the troubles at €175m, easyJet spoke this week of several million euros in damages.
‘quick change’
Interim CEO Ruud Sondag said earlier this month that he want to quickly change the staff shortage. The CEO is critical of outsourcing tasks to external companies and repeatedly emphasizes that he sees it as his mission to do it “together”.
“If you do something together, you will only be successful if you feel that other people are also interested in your problems. Whether it’s schedules, clean workspaces, good coffee and stuff like that. I have the impression that at Schiphol we have moved a little too far away from the distribution of core business to third parties and that we no longer understand ourselves as Schiphol: what is really happening in that world? What do those people think is important?” he wondered aloud in a video message to airport staff.
Increase hourly wages
Last month, Schiphol already announced it would raise the hourly wages for airport security guards by 2.50 euros. This forms the core of the best offer, which should attract more staff to Schiphol. In addition, the security guards’ schedules are to be made more employee-friendly and there will be more comfortable break rooms.
A spokesman calls the goals “ambitious and an important task”. But the intention is that Schiphol can work without restrictions during the upcoming May holidays and the summer period. During that time, the airport awaits almost as many travelers as it did in 2019, when a record number of people flew via Schiphol. The airport also wants to regain the trust of the airlines.
To handle passenger flow, airlines also need to employ enough handlers, Schiphol points out. For example, they are responsible for loading and unloading aircraft.
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