The third-busiest airport in Europe, Amsterdam’s Schiphol, advised passengers to avoid the airport on Saturday due to a strike by ground employees at the start of a school holiday.
‘The terminal is currently overcrowded… Schiphol is requesting that passengers refrain from arriving at the airport,’ airport officials stated in a statement issued shortly before noon (1000 GMT).
‘We are extremely sorry to have to do this,’ an airport official told Reuters, ‘but it is important to ensure safety.’
On Saturday afternoon, police shut off highway exits leading to the airport, and lineups at departure gates stretched out the doors of the terminal buildings.
Customers were warned to avoid the airport until at least 1300 GMT, while airport workers strive to get as many of the thousands of disgruntled passengers onto their frequently delayed planes as possible.
Baggage handlers at KLM, the Dutch part of Air France-KLM, went on an unannounced strike early Saturday in demand of more pay and better working conditions.
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