Just saying “welcome back” to a returning traveller already has a huge impact.Chaplain Marieke Meiring
Blog · 8 March
Schiphol’s airport chaplains provide support to repatriated travellers
Schiphol is a place that evokes all kinds of feelings. There’s the excitement before going on holiday, the motivation before an important business trip, the joy of being reunited with a loved one, and all emotions in between. That includes the less positive ones. Because travel plans can sometimes go differently than expected. When that happens, a friendly face at the airport is always welcome. And that’s where the Airport Chaplaincy comes in. Since last week, they have been providing support to travellers repatriated to the Netherlands due to the situation in the Middle East.
The Airport Chaplaincy is there to assist those who encounter difficulties during their journey. There’s a chaplain at the airport every day to provide assistance or lend a sympathetic ear to travellers. They are based in Schiphol’s Meditation Centre – a multifaith space open to anyone looking for a place to pray, find stillness or someone to talk to – but are often found walking around the airport, keeping an eye out for travellers in need of support. That could be someone experiencing a stressful journey, a stranded passenger, a person who has received bad news during their trip or family members waiting for an injured traveller to return home.
Due to the current conflict in the Middle East, the airport chaplains have been busy receiving repatriates over the past days. Chaplain Marieke Meiring spoke of how much relief and gratitude there was among these travellers, some of whom had been on the move for more than 30 hours with complicated journeys behind them.
Just saying “welcome back” to a returning traveller already has a huge impact.Chaplain Marieke Meiring
She recounted stories of people who had spent time in air raid shelters, who had been stuck in their hotel room for a week or who had been dealing with the stress of receiving strike alerts on their phones. All the time wondering if and how they could get home. Listening to stories like these is a large part of the chaplains’ work. People often need a sympathetic ear upon arrival.
The chaplains have also been providing practical assistance, from helping someone find a place to take a shower to ensuring a passenger received the urgent medical attention they needed. Many returning travellers are very tired after their journey and so a helping hand when it comes to the practical details is very welcome. The same goes for travellers heading to the Middle East. Due to the situation, they are unable to fly to their destination and therefore become stranded at Schiphol. The chaplains assist these travellers too, helping them arrange alternative travel plans and providing emotional support.
Of course, the Airport Chaplaincy hasn’t been doing all this work alone. They’ve been working in close collaboration with many other parties at Schiphol – including Floor Management, the airlines, Medical Services, the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee and Security – to guide the repatriates through the airport processes as smoothly as possible. ‘We get asked by operational managers at Schiphol to be present when a repatriation flight arrives. Our job is to then see where we are needed most, whether that’s meeting someone right at the gate or helping passenger assistants serve drinks and sandwiches,’ explains Marieke. ‘The teamwork has been good, really professional.’
Would you like to find out more about Schiphol’s Airport Chaplaincy?