AMSTERDAM Operations at the important European air hub of Schiphol in Holland were getting back to normal Wednesday.
The instances of long lines and mass confusion in the past few days here have eased as concerns regarding the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud diminish and flights pick up.
Officials for Eurocontrol, the body that regulates air travel in Europe, is reporting air traffic is now at 75% of regular levels.
That has still left some travelers out in the cold. Flights to places like London, Glasgow, Munich and Stockholm, scheduled to leave from Amsterdam, are showing as cancelled or delayed on the “departures board” here.
Air travelers coming from other airports with connections to still “questionable” final destinations were told they would have to end their trip in Amsterdam and wait before trying to move onwards.
A Fox News team traveling from Dubai was on one of the first planes to operate out of an airport hit by the recent closures. The Dutch-based KLM plane flew from Amsterdam to the Mideast overnight Monday. The crew then “turned around” and flew back to Amsterdam early Wednesday.
The flight attendants seemed to take the disruption in their stride, telling us their “down days” happened to coincide with the flight bans and so they were ready to get back to work.
As for the passengers on board on board the flight, with many travelers having to wait days before they’re accommodated, they were happy to be flying as well.