Frequent travellers very often characterize Amsterdam’s Schiphol as their favorite – or least hated – airport in Europe, but Compaq Computer Corp no longer likes it at all. Last Friday, Compaq said that after a few thefts too many, it no longer uses the Dutch airport. Harry Daalmeijer, Compaq Nederland BV’s freight manager, told Reuters that over $600,000 of equipment had been stolen in the last three years. Losses in 1993, he said, were $290,900, in 1994 between $175,000 and $235,000, and in 1995, $175,000. We’ve switched our air transport this year to Luxembourg and Paris-Charles de Gaulle as a result of theft at Schiphol. We found little willingness by the airport authorities and the police to really tackle the problem, he said. The airport operator said Amsterdam Airport-Schiphol had not received any official complaint from Compaq.Arnaut de Roos, Compaq’s legal adviser, said he believed organized gangs are at work at the airport targeting air cargo. We had some cases where it could have been petty theft, but there were other cases where it simply was not because a large number of computers were taken. Other parties alleged that thefts were occurring before Compaq’s goods even reached the airport.
