Combine the May holiday Sunday and the lack of staff at Schiphol and you have a mess. Long lines of passengers stood again, Sunday morning, in front of the departures hall of the airport. Firefighters gave water to people waiting. Schiphol expected around 70,000 passengers to depart on Sunday.

Attempts by the airport to reduce passenger numbers have failed. Travel organizations were asked if their customers also wanted to depart at another time or via another airport. Most of them don’t want that. Dozens of flights have been canceled and many have been delayed.

Compared to the end of last week, the chaos at Schiphol is not so bad, says Frank Ostdam, president of the General Association of Travel Companies of the Netherlands (ANVR). “Then there was a strike, and now we see Schiphol staff working on their own. But the queues are of course huge. In other words, there are not enough staff at the airport.

Refund

The traveler may encounter a lot of inconvenience, but he is not in bad shape financially. In the European context, it has been agreed that passengers will be reimbursed (part of) their money in the event of delay or cancellation.

Anyone experiencing a delay is entitled to compensation from the airline or, for example, if they have booked a package holiday (a flight plus a hotel), from the tour operator. On the website of the Consumers’ Association, you will find a table of the types of delays as well as the corresponding amounts. This ranges from 125 euros for a delay of up to two hours on flights up to 1,500 km, to 600 euros if a flight of more than 3,500 km is delayed by more than four hours.

The airline or the travel organization does not have to pay except in the event of “force majeure”. This includes severe weather, terrorism or other emergencies. The lack of personnel, which was the cause on Sunday, is neither, nor technical defects. Thanks to numerous court decisions, strikes are no longer considered a case of force majeure for the company.

KLM said in a response that the company encouraged affected travelers to contact them as soon as possible. “We will provide them with the best possible alternative and they may be able to file a claim for direct compensation,” a company spokesperson said.

Cancelation

If the entire flight is cancelled, the full amount of the airfare will be refunded to the traveler. This does not mean that it will be recovered automatically; In many cases, the traveler must pursue it themselves.

The Consumers Association distinguishes a number of ways to do this. First, the affected passenger can request a refund from the airline. They should return it within the week. According to the consumer association, the traveler can refuse a voucher or a new flight. Other options include reversing payment by credit card, through a letter to the credit card company, or through legal action. It is also possible to lodge a complaint with the Inspection du Milieu Humaine et des Transports, but the victim will then not receive individual reimbursement. A supervisor can investigate various complaints, which can lead to a class action.

Finally, there are claims organizations, such as AirHelp and Aviclaim. They promise to return money to the consumer for a commission, up to a third of the amount that will be refunded. The Consumers Association reports that the traveler should only pay the commission if they actually get the money back.

One of the requesting organizations, EUclaim, provides additional information on additional costs if your flight is cancelled. If a passenger needs a hotel stay and the airline cannot arrange it, they can book it themselves. According to EUclaim, it is important that you do not book a suite in a five-star hotel, but stick to a two- or three-star hotel.

Meal and taxi costs can also be claimed, the claims organization promised. Even if the flight is canceled due to an emergency, and the traveler is not reimbursed for their ticket, they are still entitled to compensation for hotels, meals and taxis, even if the delay lasts several days . After two hours, the traveler has the right to buy what he eats and drinks.

The pleasure of lost travel

According to Ostdam, it is important that travel companies offer an alternative as soon as possible if you cannot take a trip. “With the vacation package, the financial risk is with us. We have reserved a hotel room for the traveler. If he doesn’t show up, the hotel says, ‘Yes, nice and nice, but you just have to pay us for that room.’ for “the pleasure of lost travel”, says Ostdam.

In order to reduce these costs, it is therefore important that travel establishments offer an alternative to their customers as quickly as possible. And they did well this weekend, according to Osdam. “People are like that” Careful To go on vacation two years after contracting the coronavirus, travelers often quickly accept another solution. If they cannot go to Cyprus, they would like to go to Greece or Turkey. If only they could get away with it.