The CEO of Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport has resigned due to the chaos

 

 

The chief executive of Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, Dick Benchob, has resigned after months of continued chaos at one of Europe’s largest airports.

“There is widespread follow-up and criticism of the way Schiphol handled the problems and of my responsibility as CEO,” Benchoub said in a statement.

Benchob, who was director of “Shell” and deputy minister, added his resignation during a meeting of the Airport Supervisory Board on Wednesday night.

“He will remain in his position until a successor is appointed,” Schiphol said in a statement.

Last month, the outbreak of staff shortages at a time when the aviation sector was trying to recover from the repercussions of the Covid epidemic, was responsible for the long queues witnessed in the summer, when many passengers were unable to catch their flights despite arriving hours before departure.

Benchob’s announcement came as the continent’s second largest airport asked airlines again on Monday to cancel flights, as travelers had to wait hours before being able to board planes to take them to their destinations.

Earlier this year, staff responsible for handling passenger baggage went on strike while lost baggage remains a problem.

The airport has reduced passenger numbers since July in an effort to reduce waiting times.

Schiphol also paid bonuses to employees for the summer period of high occupancy, but the incentives are expected to expire in late September.

Schiphol Supervisory Board Chairman Jaap Winter said that “improvements were made over the summer, but they were not enough.”

The number of passengers passing through Schiphol airport fell from more than 70 million in 2019 to 20.8 million in 2020, the first year of the epidemic, and to 23 million last year.

But in August, 5.2 million passengers passed through the gates of Schiphol, compared to 3.8 million last year and 1.8 million in 2020