Public transport strike: Delays at Amsterdam’s airport

BRUSSELS – Amsterdam’s busy Schiphol Airport is warning passengers about likely delays due to a nationwide public transport strike.

Most Dutch buses, trains, trams and ferries lay idle Tuesday as unions held a one-day strike as part of a campaign against rising retirement ages.

Schiphol spokeswoman Madelon van der Hof says about 80 flights have been cancelled at the airport. National carrier KLM offered passengers the option of changing their bookings free of charge to avoid the strike.

Only four trains per hour are operating between the airport and Amsterdam instead of the usual 25. The airport says on its website: “Do not travel to Schiphol unless strictly necessary.”

Amsterdam authorities have opened a major tunnel under the Ij waterway to bicycles so that commuters can pedal to work.