KLM is preparing to face extensive operational disruption tomorrow, as ground staff gear up to take industrial action for a six-hour period. The strike will impact morning operations at 
Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS), the Dutch flag carrier’s main hub, and, as a result, it has provisionally canceled dozens of flights.
In addition to its planned cancellations, KLM has also proactive retimed certain services in order to minimize disruption to passengers by moving their flights away from the hours of the industrial action. Even so, tomorrow looks set to be a hectic one at the largest airport in the Netherlands, with more strikes on the way.
Ground Staff Are Planning A Six-Hour Walkout
According to information shared with passengers by KLM on its website, a planned union strike among its ground staff in Amsterdam is set to cause extensive disruption tomorrow, with some impacts also expected to be felt today and on Thursday. An update provided on the airport’s website shows that the strike will last from 06:00 to 12:00 tomorrow morning, with “a large portion of KLM’s ground staff” set to be involved.
Amsterdam Schiphol Airport went on to advise passengers that “your flight may be delayed, changed, or cancelled,” with Reuters reporting that 119 KLM services have already been shelved from tomorrow’s schedules. According to Business Travel News Europe, the Dutch flag carrier has also retimed 70 of its Wednesday flights to operate later and avoid the hours of the industrial action. KLM explains that:
“If your flight is cancelled or you miss a connecting flight due to this strike, we will automatically rebook you on the first available alternative flight. As this action may affect quite some passengers, rebooking may take longer than usual.”
Short-Haul Flights Are Expected To Bear The Brunt Of The Disruption
Diving deeper into the specifics of the strike, Business Travel News Europe adds that most of the planned cancellations tomorrow are expected to impact KLM’s flights on short-haul international routes within Europe. This is perhaps unsurprising, given that such services make up the bulk of its daily operations.
Indeed, current scheduling data made available by Cirium, an aviation analytics company, shows that, this week KLM has penciled in 322 departures from Amsterdam to European destinations on Monday and Tuesday, and 323 on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. In contrast to this, non-European departures only account for 49 flights on Monday and Friday, and 51 on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
However, the option to focus the cancellations around its short-haul network is likely not just a numbers game. Indeed, these flights also make more sense from a cancellation perspective, as, due to their shorter distance and higher frequencies, it will be easier to accommodate passengers on other flights to the same (or a similar) destination. Road and rail may also be viable alternatives for shorter sectors.
The Third Strike Of The Ongoing Dispute, But Not Necessarily The Last
Unfortunately for KLM and its passengers traveling to and from the Netherlands, tomorrow won’t represent the first occasion in recent times that disruption has occurred at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport due to industrial action among its ground staff. Indeed, Business Travel News Europe notes that September 10 and 17 saw two and four-hour walkouts, resulting in over 100 cancellations each time.
Even after tomorrow’s industrial action, the story may not have reached its end, with I Am Expat reporting that another strike has also been planned for October 1. This walkout is also set to start at 06:00, but will last eight hours as opposed to tomorrow’s planned six-hour strike, meaning that workers won’t return until 14:00. But why exactly are KLM’s ground staff in Amsterdam repeatedly taking such action?
According to Aviation Source News, the strikes, which have been organized by Dutch trade bodies such as CNV and FNV, are the result of failed negotiations between KLM and the unions. The flag carrier of the Netherlands offered a 2.25% pay rise over two years for its ground staff, but this was rejected, causing a breakdown in talks. According to the unions, such a rise is not in line with the current inflation rates.
