Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport should put more emphasis on solving short-term problems instead of taking the longer view, said KLM president Pieter Elbers in an interview with the Telegraaf on Monday. KLM is the airport’s largest customer.

Elbers said he felt the airport management was thinking too much about long-term projects to the detriment of increased investment in the facility’s infrastructure and security.

He said the airport sorely needed additional aircraft taxi routes and parking spaces as well as military police. ‘In addition, secure access to the terminal needs to be enhanced,’ he said.

At present there is heated debate in the Netherlands about the future of the national airport which is expected to be ‘full’ and thus closed for future development a year earlier than forecast.

Schiphol is also working hard on preparations for the new A terminal which will be opened only in 2023. ‘What happens after 2020 is really important,’ Elbers told the Telegraaf.  ‘But we also should be considering 2018.’