The Netherlands' Schiphol will increase airport charges further in 2024

2023-11-05 20:24:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The Netherlands' Schiphol will increase airport charges further in 2024

Illustrative photo

Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport is planning to raise its airport charges by 14.8 percent next year, a higher increase than the 12 percent previously forecast.

In a statement released recently, Schiphol said that such an increase is considered necessary to compensate for revenue losses experienced in 2022, a year marked by reduced air traffic, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports .

In early 2022, there were still some travel restrictions due to COVID-19 and airlines were operating fewer flights than planned. The lack of security personnel also led to reduced flights, but Schiphol has not included the estimated portion of this in the calculation.

Amsterdam Schiphol Airport

According to Schiphol's CFO, Robert Carsouw, the increase is essential for maintaining the quality of services at Schiphol and its financial stability. It also maintains that this approach is consistent with the regulatory framework.

Staff shortages at the security companies operating at Schiphol played an important role in reducing the number of flights in 2022. In response to these shortages, Schiphol had to implement restrictions on the number of passengers departing at certain times throughout the year .

In June 2022, Schiphol Airport implemented a daily passenger limit in response to the ongoing problems of long queues and missed flights, to which the significant increase in summer passengers had largely contributed.

At the same time, airport authorities have highlighted the tight labor market, pointing to a lack of security personnel available to manage the high volume of passengers expected to travel through the airport this year.

The determination of airport charges at Schiphol is subject to strict legislative regulations. Simply put, Schiphol is prohibited from benefiting from these fees.

According to the airport, if the revenue generated by airport charges exceeds the costs associated with airline service, the excess is returned to the airlines. As a result, airport charges for the following year have been reduced. This happened relatively recently, specifically between 2016 and 2019. Airport charges paid by airlines at Schiphol are allocated to facilities and services that benefit the airlines themselves. This includes essential areas such as runway maintenance, security measures, terminal maintenance and cleaning services.

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol has planned to invest more than 3 billion euros between 2024 and 2027, focusing on maintenance and critical improvements. These plans include extensive projects aimed at revitalizing various areas of the airport, including Pier C, the baggage cellar, climate control systems, walkways, aircraft stands and taxiways./ CNA