Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport is heavily congested: some of the passenger queues stretch out onto the street. The few staff can hardly keep up with the processing. For this reason, KLM is pulling the emergency brake – the airline is no longer accepting bookings for flights until Sunday.

The company has stopped selling tickets for all flights departing from Schiphol Airport near Amsterdam. The airline does not want to exacerbate the impending travel chaos at its Amsterdam-Schiphol hub. The short-term booking freeze initially applies to all flights up to and including Sunday, the airline said in a broadcast on Thursday. Customers who have already booked trips for the next three days should be able to switch to other flights.

Shortly before the peak travel season, Amsterdam-Schiphol is short of staff everywhere. Passengers and planes cannot be processed on time - long queues form at the security checkpoints. Passengers sometimes had to wait for hours to be guided through the terminals. As a result, many missed their flights. KLM has already canceled dozens of flights since April. After the massive job cuts due to the slump in the pandemic, the recruitment of new employees cannot keep up with the expected travel boom.