Dutch Daily Briefing · Episodes
France Counts the Cost, and a Lost Sunday at Schiphol
A ten-hour failure of Schiphol's passport e-gates left several hundred travellers watching their flights leave without them, and most can't claim compensation. France counts almost 2,400 arrests after a day of riots, and President Macron's TV address draws heavy criticism. Also today: Albert Heijn's app comes back, Dutch families take refugees into their homes, Amsterdam's culture scene pushes back on the tourist tax, and two Dutch athletes have very different weekends.

Monday, 19 October 2026 · 14 min
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- Schiphol’s passport e-gates fail for ten hours: An IT failure knocked out all 78 gates on Sunday, leaving holiday travellers queuing up to 90 minutes for manual checks. (NL Times, NU.nl)
- Albert Heijn’s app is back; deliveries restart Friday: Accounts, Bonus offers and savings are visible again, but online orders before Friday 23 October are cancelled and refunded. (NL Times, NU.nl)
- €355 million to open up new housing areas: The cabinet’s money for roads, cycle routes and transport serves almost 30,000 homes in Alkmaar, Apeldoorn, Helmond and Hengelo-Enschede. (NL Times)
- Families take in refugees as Ter Apel overflows: After twenty men slept outside in the rain, more households are hosting refugees with permits to free up asylum beds. (NU.nl)
- Amsterdam’s culture scene vs. the tourist tax: Cultural groups say rising hotel costs drive away visitors, with the tourist tax going from 12.5 to 16 percent in 2027. (Het Parool)
- France: record arrests, and Macron’s speech backfires: Saturday’s unrest led to 2,397 arrests and 997 injured officers nationwide, including a record 855 arrests in Paris. (NOS, NU.nl)
- Harrie Lavreysen’s eighth straight sprint title: In Shanghai, the 29-year-old beat Australia’s Leigh Hoffman in the final, bringing his career total to 23 world titles. (NOS)
- A wet Amsterdam Marathon: Ethiopians Buze Diriba and Lemi Berhanu won, with Diriba setting a course record of 2:16:10. (NL Times, NOS)
What’s on in Amsterdam (Monday 19 October 2026)
- Slayyyter: WOR$T GIRL IN THE WORLD TOUR: The St. Louis-born pop artist brings her third album, mixing punk, pop and rap, to an Amsterdam concert hall in a former church. (Monday 19 October, 19:30, Paradiso, Leidsebuurt (Centrum))
- Akira, 4K restoration (opening): LAB111, an independent cult-film cinema in Amsterdam-West, is showing the anime classic restored in 4K. (Opens Monday 19 October, screenings at various times (runs until 3 November), LAB111, Oud-West)
- Nottingham High School Music concert: Ensembles from the English school give a free afternoon concert at the English Church in the Begijnhof. (Monday 19 October, 14:00–15:00, De Engelse Kerk, Begijnhof (Centrum))
More on in Amsterdam
- Grote Pianisten: Krystian Zimerman brengt 24 verrassingen: The pianist plays a secret selection of 24 short pieces in 24 keys, inspired by Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier. (20:15 - 22:05, The Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam)
- Sovereign Son: At De Balie, a documentary follows Marcus van Belkum tracing his late father and being drawn towards manosphere voices. (At various times, De Balie)
- Moving Talent: pianist Gabriel Crist zet Mozart in een nieuw licht: The pianist pairs Mozart with music by Jonathan Dove and Michael Nyman to show how Mozart still inspires composers. (20:15 - 22:35, The Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam)
- Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb: Kubrick’s Cold War satire follows a general who orders a nuclear strike, with Peter Sellers playing three roles. (At various times, LAB111, opening)
Also in the news
- Americans in the Netherlands get ready to vote in the midterms: A Trump plan requiring proof of citizenship to vote was tried in Kansas in 2014 and hurt tens of thousands of voters. (DutchNews.nl, NOS)
- No trains on parts of the Arnhem–Utrecht line for 12 days from October 20: ProRail is suspending trains on sections of the line from Tuesday 20 October through Saturday 31 October. (NL Times)
- US threatens ‘devastating’ countermeasures if the EU restricts SpaceX: The US ambassador to the EU warned against Brussels’ plan to reserve some satellite frequencies for European companies. (NOS)
- Man convicted over antisemitic remark at pro-Palestinian protest in Amsterdam: Abdelmounaim El H., 52, was convicted for shouting ‘if only they had finished the job’. (NL Times)