KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, the flag carrier airline of the Netherlands and several other airlines are taking legal help to challenge the Dutch government’s decision to reduce flight capacity at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport (IATA: AMS, ICAO: EHAM), the main international airport of the Netherlands..
American Delta Air Lines and British multinational low-cost airline EasyJet Plc are other carriers joining forces with the Dutch arm of Air France-KLM, that is responsible for around 60% of traffic at Schiphol, to “safeguard the future capacity” of the airport, according to a joint statement published on Friday.
Prompted by the chaotic travel season last year , The Dutch government had announced last year it is planning cut the Amsterdam hub’s flight capacity in a bid to reduce noise pollution. The cabinet will impose a limit of 460,000 flights this year with the ultimate goal of reducing the capacity to 440,000 by 2024.
Understandably, the awkward confrontation is a result of increasingly tense relationship between airports and airlines amid travel demands across Europe.
As mentioned earlier, last year, traffic across hubs in Europe endured chaotic weeks of disruption because of a lack of ground personnel, forcing airlines to cut capacity. KLM said earlier this month that operations last year were held back as a result of the disruptions at Schiphol.
It was learnt that Schiphol airport lost €28 million last year despite the revenge travel after Pandemic restrictions, and the hub’s efforts to mitigate the chaos led to additional costs of about €120 million, it said.
KLM said the government’s decision to cut back operations is “unnecessary” and violates national, European and international legislation. Last month, Air France-KLM’s Chief Executive Officer Ben Smith warned limiting capacity at Schiphol would hurt the Dutch economy.
The capacity limits are meant to “restore the legal position of local residents,” the Dutch government said Friday in a statement.
International Air Transport Association is also joining the legal action, it said in a separate statement,
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and airlines are mounting a legal challenge to the Dutch government’s sudden decision to reduce Schiphol airport’s capacity.
Schiphol Airport is already restricted to 500,000 flights annually. The government’s decree would renege on that agreement, reducing Schiphol connectivity to 460,000 flights from November 2023.
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