Red carpet at the bottom of the aircraft steps, Royal Netherlands Marechaussee officers wearing fur hats and flags flying high – we leave nothing to chance when it comes to a state visit. But what else does such a special visit involve? You can read all about it in this blog.
Not everyone will know this, but an ‘ordinary’ visit by a head of state is not called a state visit, but a working visit. It's only a state visit when the programme also includes a meeting with our own head of state, King Willem-Alexander. This happens about twice a year and is determined by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in consultation with the royal family.
Once it is clear that a state visit is going to take place, the ministry sends a request to Schiphol. We have a special team that is responsible for organising state visits: Special OPS. They start getting to work on the ministry's request.
This team works with a set protocol, but each visiting country has different requirements in terms of security, religious beliefs and procedures. For example, in Western countries flags are typically hung on the left during arrivals, while for non-Western countries it's the other way around. Every visiting country has its own culture and customs, and it's important for us to be aware of them. After all, we do not want to offend our guests.
Prior to the visit, a so-called 'advanced party' comes to Schiphol. This is a delegation from the visiting country, composed of entourage members, security guards and other staff. Together with a contact person from the ministry and the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee, we discuss what we need to take into consideration. In what aircraft are they coming to Schiphol? What time? What kind of security measures are required? With this information, all parties can get to work.
Once all preparations have been made, we just need to wait for the actual visit. We have three set locations for receiving state visits, depending on the aircraft type and time of year. On the day itself, Special OPS takes care of the final details together with the handling agent. This includes the correct positioning of the red carpet, which of course needs to be perfectly straight and lined up precisely with the door. We therefore determine in advance where the plane's nose wheel needs to be.
Once the aircraft has landed, a procession of motorbike-escorted vehicles immediately drives ahead. This is arranged by the Royal Household Service or by the visiting country itself and is checked beforehand by the Marechaussee. Along the red carpet – in addition to a welcoming delegation of ministers and members and/or delegates of the royal household and embassies – the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee stands ceremonially in their fur hats. Fun fact: the number of fur hats is determined by the status of the visiting head of state.
Our guest then gets into a car with the rest of the delegation and the procession leaves the airport accompanied by motorcyclists. The aircraft remains at Schiphol as long as the head of state is in the Netherlands. Once the visit is over, the plane is prepared for departure. We know in advance what time that will be approximately, so we take that into account. When the delegation has boarded, we notify the control tower and they ensure that the visitors can leave promptly. And thus, our work is done. On to the next state visit!