Travellers at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport can now reserve a dedicated time to pass through security checks, the airport announced on 6 April, in an effort to reduce waiting times and security control delays at the Netherlands hub. The free service applies to travellers flying within the Schengen Zone, however the airport said additional destinations “will follow shortly”.
Time slots can be reserved up to three days before departure via the airport’s website or dedicated app. After making a booking, travellers receive a confirmation email containing a QR code, which is then scanned by a member of staff at the airport and travellers directed to a reserved lane.
In a statement, the airport said the service applies only to security checks and warned that travellers still need to factor in enough time for check in and baggage drop-off at the departures hall.
The move comes as the airport looks to improve the traveller experience following a chaotic 2022 summer season, where security staff shortages led to flight delays and an eventual cap on passenger numbers. In what has been a busy week for Schiphol, a Dutch court on Wednesday ruled that the government’s plan to reduce flight numbers at the airport later this year was against EU rules.
The court’s decision came just one day after Schiphol announced a separate plan to ban night flights and private jets from 2025 as a way of further reducing noise and emissions.
A group of airlines, including KLM, took legal action against the “unilateral” reduction in flights at Schiphol, however the ruling only applies to the upcoming winter season, rather than the government’s wider environmental policy to cut capacity at Schiphol to 440,000 services per year from the start of the winter 2024-25 season
