Amsterdam‘s Schiphol Airport will continue to cap passenger departures through early 2023. According to CNN, the airport, which is one of the busiest in Europe, announced the decision Thursday.
What we know:
The airport consulted with airlines prior to making the decision and says they said that airlines “are not happy about it.” However, an increase in travel coupled with a reduced workforce has made it necessary. The number of passengers will be reduced by 22% until March, the airport said in a statement.
In June, the Dutch airport Airport revealed that it would reduce passenger departures by 16% until November in an attempt to lighten the load on the overworked staff.
Capacity was later changed to 20%, which would limit the daily passenger departures to 9,250 until October 31. Under the new plan, however, that percentage has gone up and the timeframe has been extended.
A note from the COO
“Keeping to a maximum number of travelers is vital,” said Schiphol Airport COO Hanne Buis. “We want to ensure the safety of employees and travelers, in addition to providing a more reliable airport process. This obviously affects travelers and airlines, which we, of course, consider very unfortunate.”
One of the airlines that is unhappy with the decision is Dutch flag carrier KLM. The airline is expecting to lose roughly $70 million this winter as a result of its ticket sales being limited. KLM accused the airport of not having any real solution to the problem and believes their capping plan is “hopeless.”
“For KLM, this is the last straw,” the airline said in a statement. “Again and again, airlines and their passengers need to offer the solution. This harms KLM and stands in stark contrast to the increase in the cost of using Schiphol, rising to 37% in the coming years.”
A note from Chief Executive of KLM
Marjan Rintel, chief executive of KLM, said, “KLM has said before that limiting the number of passengers cannot be a long-term measure, but that is what it seems like now. With the new winter restrictions, Schiphol offers us no prospects whatsoever.”
The airport has promised to continue to work to make structural improvements and said it will remain realistic through the daunting task.
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