‘My daughter was blocked from her flight’

QMy daughter Liz arrived at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam at 8.20am on September 24, intending to fly to Luton with easyJet at 10.45am. She checked in one bag and, together with a friend, headed for departures. At the entrance to security, an official barred their way, saying the area was overcrowded.

After waiting in line for an hour, they were directed to another location which was also closed. Eventually passengers were allowed to proceed one by one through security to the automated passport gates, where Liz and others became trapped. Once she was released, her passport was manually checked and she dashed to the gate.

It was now 10.40am. The aircraft was still on stand with the steps in place. However, she and 26 other passengers were told by the flight dispatchers that their luggage was being offloaded, there would be no refunds or assistance, and they would have to make their own way home.

I bought Liz and her friend new flights for that evening costing £622.

EasyJet has since repaid £46. Liz has tried her insurer but there is no cover under the policy. Can we make a claim against the airport for delaying her?

– Yvonne Baldwin

AAs it was clear that Liz had allowed plenty of time to navigate all the necessary departure formalities, I contacted Schiphol Airport to find out whether it would compensate her or not. It referred me to the Dutch border police, Royal Marechaussee, which confirmed that its passport eGates had suffered a technical failure that morning. A reduced crew of police officers had been forced to conduct manual checks instead.

In circumstances like these, there is no government or airport compensation for passengers who miss their flights. And it is at the discretion of the airline whether to hold the flight for delayed passengers or not.

EasyJet told me that it had no record of border control issues on September 24. However, it did confirm that its staff at Schiphol should have been aware of the situation and provided free flight transfers for passengers who had missed their flights.

After I had forwarded the email from Royal Marechaussee confirming the shutdown of the eGates, easyJet agreed to refund the cost of the new British Airways flights, plus any other expenses, as a goodwill gesture.

More generally, because the Dutch carrier KLM offers an extensive programme of regional flights from the UK, Schiphol is an important transit airport for onward travel to Europe and beyond. Concerned about potential delays like this, I asked Schiphol to confirm what checks are made on British passengers in transit.

British passport holders transferring to a Schengen flight (most EU countries) must pass through passport control at Schiphol, but do not have to undergo security checks. I would allow 90 minutes between flights. Transfers to non-Schengen flights require no passport control or security checks.