People have shown, time and time again, if they have the money to spend, they’re willing to spend it to save them some time and not stand in lines. “Skip the queues” passes are well known at places that draw crowds, such as theme parks and the Vatican. You can even pay someone to stand in line for you in NYC (while you wait for doughnuts, Broadway tickets, at the DMV, etc.). And, of course, the ultimate “skip the queue” options for travelers, CLEAR, Global Entry and TSA PreCheck, are used by millions.
Speaking about lines, you’ve undoubtedly saw the queues for security at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport (AMS) since the spring. Lines have have been so long, they’ve been known to snake as much as possible inside, and then go outside the terminal AND have a switchback. Here’s a lot of why it’s been happening.
Regardless of the “whys,” the bottom line is that the same worker shortage continues, despite airport spokespeople saying they’re working on making things better.
To help avoid standing the queues, many have begun taking advantage of Schiphol’s VIP Service. The program, which was already a well-established service at AMS, provides a dedicated security line as well as other amenities, including a private lounge (up to 2 hours before departure or until 1 hour after arrival) and limousine service.
Here’s what the service offers:
- Check-in assistance
- Baggage handling
- Excellent food & beverage service
- Assistance with passport formalities
- Private security check
- Transport to your plane in a luxury car
Here’s a virtual tour of the service:
Prices start at €617 (about $611) but increase with more amenities such as transfer flights, meeters & greeters, etc.. Those are the prices (which include VAT) for the first person in a party; prices for additional passengers are €278.30 and work their way up from there.
It is worth it? Read this to find out.
Anyway, apparently there are a lot of people willing to pay $600+ to skip the queues at AMS because the airport recently had to pause new memberships. How come? Again, staffing issues.
These are busy times in the Schiphol VIP centre. We will do our utmost to provide you with the best service. At this moment we cannot accept reservation requests from new guests unfortunately. Due to the large volume of requests, we can only accommodate VIP service for our regular guests. Unfortunately, we cannot always confirm requests from regular guests either. We recommend making a reservation request as early as possible.
“We are working on expanding the number of staff, [yet] at the same time it has always been an exclusive service,” says Madelon van der Hof, a spokesperson for Schiphol. “At this moment we can’t give a date when the service will open again for all new members.”
So for now, even if you want to pay to skip the queues, you can’t. Whomp whomp.
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