Schiphol returns to normal after Wednesday's fuel outage

Hundreds of people were forced to sleep at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam on Wednesday night after a breakdown at their main fuel supplier.

Some 180 flights were canceled and about 200 delayed on one of the busiest days of the year and the airlines warned that problems could persist until Thursday.

"Due to the consequences of yesterday, we also expect a somewhat disrupted day today," said the airport on its website. "As a result, travelers may experience delays and possible cancellations. We understand that this situation can be very boring and inconvenient for travelers. "

There is no problem for Schiphol in mbad storage of https://t.co/QQa1vC4Ocw @NOS#Schiphol #Vliegveld #luchthaven #Vliegtuigen #Vliegtuig # storage # Mark #brandstofstoring #brandstoftoevoer #tanksysteem #tanken #tankstoring

– Michael (@ michael15071997) July 25, 2019

A failure of aircraft fuel systems, which controls the fuel supply to aircraft, meant that only aircraft with sufficient fuel in their tanks could restart as long as the problem persisted.

The exact cause of the failure is not yet clear. Aircraft Fuel Supply is a joint venture between Air France-KLM and several oil companies, including Shell, Esso and Texaco. The company is responsible for both the supply of fuel – about 12 million liters per day – and the underground infrastructure that transports fuel to the aircraft.

The airport has set up camp beds for stranded pbadengers after the cancellation of their flight. According to the Nu.nl website, some 1,300 people were forced to sleep at the airport because the local hotels were full.

Delays and cancellations affected approximately 10,000 travelers and many of them resorted to social media to express their frustration at the lack of information and the long queues to obtain information. # 39; s help.

'We were told that our flight was canceled and we had just left. We spent the night on a bench, "told NOS one of the men who had to fly at 5:40 pm Wednesday.

Frustration op Schiphol: "Nog nooit zo 'schandalige situatie meegemaakt" https://t.co/rldWoGFj86 via @NOS/ MAAR SCHIPHOL MOEST TO MOET NÓG GROTER, NÓG GROTER

– wolf (@denisehaesen) July 25, 2019

"I'm furious," said another man at NRC. "What disorder, chaos. A company for fuel? Why is there no competition? And then we get everything in Spanish from Vueling. "

The airline damage experts said that the pbadengers affected by the problems could not claim compensation, because the airlines themselves were not at fault.