Amsterdam's Schipol airport plans to cut number of passengers

BRUSSELS, June 17 (KUNA) - Amsterdam's Schiphol airport plans to cut the number of passengers using its facilities by an average of 13,500 a day in July and restrictions on flights will continue well into August, Dutch media reported Friday.
Quoting Schipol airport chief Dick Benschop, DutchNews.nl, said the figures for August will be released in two weeks time. The decision to slash flight numbers follows weeks of chaos and long queues at Schiphol, which has a shortage of security staff and baggage handlers in particular, it said.
Dozens to hundreds of flights will be scrapped on the busiest days and the pain will be spread across airlines, Schiphol's operations director Patricia Vitalis said. "We are also motivating airlines to use regional airports where there is still space," she told reporters. Dutch flag carrier KLM says it will cut back on ticket sales and that it did not expect to have to cancel many flights. Meanwhile, the Dutch government is reportedly planning to enforce a permanent reduction in the number of flights to and from Schiphol because it does not meet noise, nitrogen and fine particulate pollution rules, it noted. (end) nk.aa