Transport strike forces flight cancellations in Netherlands

A strike by public transport workers in the Netherlands forced the cancellation of dozens of flights at the country's main airport on Tuesday as passengers faced difficulties reaching the airport.

"Several airlines cancelled their flights," said Willemeike Koster, spokeswoman of Amsterdam's Schiphol airport.

Dutch carrier KLM, along with budget airlines Ryanair and EasyJet, were among the airlines cancelling some 80 flights overall. Several other flights were delayed.

"It's busy on the roads to the airport due to the strike because there is very limited train traffic between Schiphol and Amsterdam," she said. "There are four trains per hour today instead of the usual 25."

Once passengers reach the airport, services are functioning normally, she added.

Dutch trade unions called the strike to secure better pension benefits and to call for the country's retirement age to be fixed at 66 years.

The FNV, the largest trade union in the Netherlands, also plans for brief strike actions among security and cleaning staff at Schiphol airport on Wednesday.

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