The airport says the planned 41% increase in fees, which will be imposed next year, is necessary due to rampant inflation and much higher interest rates over the past three years.
the airport Schiphol of Amsterdam has announced that next year it will increase 41% their rates at airlinesaccording to a statement from the airport’s owner, the Royal Schiphol Group.
This increase will be allocated mainly to fine to airlines with excessively noisy planesas well as improve infrastructure from the airport. Similarly, night flight operators will also have to pay more.
Rates will also rise 6% in 2026but will drop 7.5% the following year. However, airlines will have to pay an average of 15 euros more in 2027 than in 2024 for each passenger leaving the airport.
One of the main reasons for this measure has been the dizzying increase of the inflation and the rise in interest rates in the last three years. It also includes the cost of recovering from losses caused by the pandemic.
The airport has also revealed that it plans to use these funds to further invest in the improvement of services for its airlines and passengers and that will also improve the working conditions of its staff.
For these changes, Schiphol airport has revealed that it will need an investment of about 6 billion of euros in the next five yearswhich will be used mainly for quality improvements and maintenance. However, to ease the burden on airlines, Schiphol Airport has also announced that it will contribute €100 million.
In a statement, Robert Carsouw, chief financial officer of the Royal Schiphol Group, stated: “This sharp increase in rates is necessary to invest in quality and sustainability desired at Schiphol, to improve services to airlines and passengers, and to offer decent working conditions to all people working at Schiphol. Furthermore, by making it significantly more expensive or even impossible to fly with noisier aircraft and to fly at night, we contribute to reduce discomfort to our neighbors“.
National airline KLM hits back at Schiphol airport over tax hike
The rise in rates has raised criticism from some sectorsincluding the Dutch national airline KLM. In a statement published on the company’s website, Marjan Rintel, CEO of KLM, says: “Schiphol passes on costs additional costs of setbacks and budget overruns largely to the traveler. It is inevitable that tickets will become more expensive if airport taxes are increased so drastically. “This is unreasonable and reckless.”
“Unreasonable,” he added, “because Schiphol puts the costs of all setbacks and COVID-19 entirely on the airlines. Inadvisable, because by doing so, the airport undermines your competitive position as an international ‘hub’. This raises risks for the ‘hub’ functionthe connectivity of the Netherlands and our economy.
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