Marcel van Roosmalen has only one tip for director Dick Benschop: disappear.
At the check-in counters, in the luggage cellars and at shops or the airlines. There are thousands of jobs up for grabs at Schiphol. The airport has been trying to get a grip on the crowds for weeks, but it continues to fail due to a lack of staff. Under the expert leadership of Schiphol Director Dick Benschop, the reputation of the airport is declining in the ranking of the best in the world.
Airlines, the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee, customs, the national government, local authorities, air traffic control and other important stakeholders are all weighed down by the pressure that travelers experience at the airport. There is much to do around major airports such as Schiphol and London Heathrow that are struggling with the huge increase in the number of travelers returning to the field after the corona pandemic. While Qatar airport beat everything and everyone, several European airports currently landed at the bottom of the list.
responsible
The entire airline industry is dealing with a messy summer full of delays and lost luggage. But the airlines are equally responsible for the chaos. At the start of the corona pandemic, airlines canceled ground traders en masse because of the halt in international travel traffic. More than half of this workforce left the sector in Europe. These employees were responsible for, among other things, the check-in of travelers and the loading and unloading of luggage.
It was also not due to him, but to the greater than expected influx of passengers and the shortage on the labor market.
He's not a visionary, is he? On 20 July 2020, VNO-NCW wrote in the opinion magazine Forum: “Schiphol will do things differently after corona”. A statement by VNO-NCW member of the executive and general board Dick Benschop. At the lowest point of the corona crisis, Schiphol was at 3 percent of the regular flow of aircraft and people. The airport boss took advantage of the NOW scheme and proudly noted that most of his 3.000 employees remained at work. His statement at the time was: “Traveling will not be impossible or unpleasant, but it will be different.”
And it certainly was. Schiphol is a special place and a wonderful company and one of the most dynamic organizations in the Netherlands. CEO Dick Benschop, where the Balkenendenorm is not in the picture, now thinks he can do it with apologies in the media. But all distraught travelers who saw their vacation go up in smoke think otherwise. After all, how difficult can it be to check airline reservations against the occupation of your own staff?
under guardianship
Since 1 May 2018, Benschop (1957) has been President & CEO. Schiphol is not Benschop's first failure. For director Dick Benschop has Marcel van Roosmalen only one tip: disappear. The Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management Mark Harbers wanted Schiphol boss Dick Benschop to report weekly to the House on the status of the airport. The House would go beyond its scope there, because it is up to the Schiphol Supervisory Board to check that.
His appointment was approved at the time by Minister Hoekstra of Finance. The state owns seventy percent of Schiphol and is therefore allowed to pronounce on the appointment of the new top executive. According to Minister Hoekstra, Benschop met the profile of the position outlined in advance. Benschop has served as political assistant to three PvdA party leaders, Joop den Uyl, Thijs Wöltgens and Wim Kok. Benschop was once State Secretary for Foreign Affairs in 2001.
Tension at the airport has been running high in recent weeks, resulting in riots and hours-long queues. De Telegraaf said that Schiphol wants to let the reins go. Great, but then the following problems come to light. According to aviation journalist Yteke de Jong, KLM is 200 men short in the ground operation. So expanding the flight movements or selling extra tickets is no longer an option. The sales freeze on tickets will remain for the time being, despite the looser regime.
