Schiphol freezes VIP service as travellers pay to dodge queue chaos

Photo: tupungato via Depositphotos
Privium has grown in popularity as a VIP queue-jumping option. Photo: tupungato via Depositphotos

Schiphol airport has closed its VIP service to new customers because of a surge in demand prompted by long queues for arrivals over the summer.

In a statement on its website, the airport said it suspending new reservations for its Privium service ‘due to the large volume of requests’. Existing customers are still welcome.

In the first nine months of this year 21,500 people used the Privium service, more than the previous record for an entire year, set in 2019.

For €617 a year plus €287 for additional passengers, Privium customers could buy access to a VIP departure lounge, private security checks and transfer to the plane and – crucially – shorter waiting times.

Privium customers can check in up to 90 minutes before their flight, while regular passengers have had to queue for as long as four hours at peak times over the summer as the airport struggled with staff shortages.

 

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