Amsterdam Schiphol has provided an update on the use of its pre-booked security time slots, with the service having reached the one million customer milestone.
The airport launched the initiative on Schengen routes in March this year, before extending it to non-Schengen routes in June.
Amsterdam Schiphol extends pre-booked security check time slots to all destinations
The service is free of charge, with passengers able to reserve slots up to three days before departure on the Schiphol website or app.
They will then receive a confirmation email containing a QR code, which can be scanned at the airport by a member of staff, who will direct the customer to the correct security check entry point.
Time slots are open for 15 minutes, and Schiphol said that the service had been “extremely successful”, with the most popular slot being between 90 and 105 minutes before departure.
Within the Schengen zone Barcelona, Malaga and Lisbon have been the most popular destinations for the use of the slots, while Heathrow, Dubai and Curacao top the list of Schengen destinations.
The milestone customers were Willy and Leny Janssen-Jansen from Uden, who were treated to free access to the airport’s Privium Lounge.
In October Heathrow airport launched its own six-month trial of pre-booked security slots, involving passengers travelling with American Airlines, Delta, Emirates and Virgin Atlantic from Terminal 3.
Schiphol said that it expects around three million passengers to pass through the airport between 22 December and 7 January – a 30 per cent increase on the same period last Christmas.
The busiest days will see around 60,000 travellers departing from the airport, with the most popular destinations being London, Istanbul, Barcelona, Dubai and Milan.