STOP CALLING ME! Stop coming by my apartment in the middle of the night. I don't have your goddamned keys. They are at Arlanda! Call them and bother them. I was trying to be nice by putting the picture on Facebook. Your problem is with Arlanda, not me!
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I saw this on my feed today and I am so proud of him!
Hi everyone! I know I can Google a lot of this, but since a lot of those answers have stopped reflecting real life, I am looking for real experiences.
My parents are flying YEG-AMS-ARN for my dad’s 75th birthday at the beginning of august. They are coming to visit me in Sweden. It’s been years since they’ve been here and their first time taking the KLM route (I only fly it now when going home, finally escaping the United route through Chicago or Seattle). Previously, they’ve flown Air Canada through Toronto or the (greatly missed) Iceland Air flight. My mom is in her 60s but with difficulties walking. For some reason, they thought it was a bright idea to book the flight with only an hour transfer. I’ve done this route before and I’m at Schiphol every other month, flying for work. I can do this on my own and if I was with them, I’d be able to solve tons of problems. But I’m super worried about them getting confused or overwhelmed.
I’m trying to be rational about this and not freak out. But an hour (probably less with delays…) for my (almost) 75 year old father and disabled mother, who both haven’t been abroad for nearly a decade, is far, far too tight.
First, who do I contact (or tell my dad to contact…which he will forget to do or do it wrong so I will have to do it anyway in the end) at both KLM and Schiphol to ensure that they get transfer from the gate to passport control and their connecting gate? I know this airport sprint like the back of my hand but it’s hard to convey how far it is to my parents from gate to gate. I’ve collapsed sweaty and stressed far too many times trying to catch my connections to Sweden, Canada, Scotland (for work), Germany (for work), etc. they can’t handle this without help.
Second, is it worth it if I gamble and book a short trip to Amsterdam and book their return flight as my return? I have friends and colleagues in Amsterdam and don’t have vacation until the end of July due to a time sensitive project. If they miss their flight, I could just hang out at Arlanda until they catch the next flight. My partner wants me to do it, but I’m just imagining me waiting on the other side of passport control and them not making it and getting rebooked while I’ve just fucked myself and not eligible for a rebooking. Still, I’d get a few days in Amsterdam to relax and not think about work.
Let me know how to handle the connection issue and comment on whether or not it’s dumb that I try to meet them at Schiphol. Thanks!
Edit: thanks everyone for the responses so far! I’m just so used to only taking care of myself during transfers that I really needed the additional perspectives ❤️