Balloons, relief at Dutch airport as tourists beat Covid strain closure

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A total of 161 people returned on Saturday on the only KLM flight from Johannesburg.

Schiphol:

Relieved passengers from a flight from South Africa flocked to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport on Saturday, unlike the day before, when fears over a new variant of Covid-19 sparked chaos.

Smiling relatives waiting with balloons and flowers greeted travelers on KLM’s only flight from Johannesburg, which reached the Netherlands despite a growing international stop to fight the new ‘Omicron’ strain.

The mood was very different the day before, when passengers on two flights spent hours bogged down at Schiphol as tests revealed 61 of 600 passengers had coronavirus, with some possibly having the new “Omicron” strain. that worries governments around the world.

“We were afraid we would have to go back to quarantine,” said Mariam van der Veen, a flight attendant who was on vacation in South Africa with her husband Alexander.

“The funny thing is … nobody told us anything,” Van der Veen, 58, told AFP news agency, visibly relieved.

Her husband added: “We heard that there is a new variant and that it might be impossible to come back after the weekend. So we decided not to wait (in South Africa) in these circumstances and booked a return flight. “

‘Panic variant’

A total of 161 people returned on Saturday on the only KLM flight from Johannesburg, blending in perfectly with other arrivals from Istanbul and Atlanta as they picked up luggage from conveyor belts.

At least 107 other passengers were barred from boarding because they did not comply with new Dutch government rules hastily announced on Friday.

These prohibit entry to all passengers from southern African countries, except Dutch and European residents who may show a negative Covid test carried out within 24 hours of boarding the plane.

“Each person faces an individual situation. We cannot say when these people will be able to return,” KLM spokesman Remco Rous told AFP.

Since the emergence of the new strain, country after country has banned flights from southern Africa in what New York Times global health reporter Stephanie Nolen – who was on one of the flights to Schiphol – described as “variant panic”.

On Friday, passengers arriving at Schiphol had to endure hours of waiting – first on the plane, then in a cramped arrival hall “people were breathing on top of each other” and many people were not wearing face masks, Nolen tweeted.

Passenger Paula Zimmerman, who documented her night via videos posted to Twitter and ultimately tested negative, said “the organization was sadly terrible. Lessons for the future.”

“Flying in first class”

Dutch health authorities said on Saturday that some of the 61 people who tested positive for Covid and now quarantined at the hotel “probably” had the new variant.

“It was an extraordinary, unique situation, because the measurements changed while people were on the plane,” said Stefan Donker, spokesperson for Schiphol.

“The coronavirus is something unexpected and it always turns out to be more unexpected,” he told AFP.

While passengers who missed connecting flights due to Friday night’s delay were furious, those who arrived on Saturday had a much smoother transit – and those destined for the Netherlands were extremely relieved.

“We were all tense and a little worried,” said Rita Kizito, professor in the Netherlands, but things “went surprisingly very well”.

Kizito said she was allowed to pass border checks and health officials accepted the results of her South African tests.

And, an airplane that is not full had additional benefits.

“For the first time in economy class, I was able to stretch my legs, because I had three seats to myself,” she said.

“I was thinking, my God, I’m flying first class today!” “

(Except for the title, this story was not edited by NDTV staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)

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