Holidaymakers are being warned to expect long queues as Schiphol airport gears up for its busiest day of the year.

Around 233,000 passengers are expected to use the airport on Monday, an increase of 3,000 on last year’s busiest day, NOS reported. The total number of travellers over the whole summer holiday period is forecast to rise by 2.4% to 12.4 million.

The airport has taken steps to reduce delays, such as introducing ‘small bags only’ queues so passengers who are travelling light can get through check-in faster. The construction of a new A pier and improvements to Departure Hall 1 should alleviate the problem in the long term.

However, the military police, which is responsible for passport control, is not expected to be at full operational strength until 2019, according to earlier reports in the Telegraaf.

Not all passengers travelling on Monday will add to the passport queue, as around 78,000 are in transit. Of the remainder, 80,000 are departing while 75,000 will pass through the arrivals hall.

The most popular destinations are the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy and Greece, but there has been a 10% increase in people travelling to the United States, which now accounts for around 75,000 departures a week.