Amsterdam Schiphol has announced an increase in airport charges in 2024 “due to lost income” in 2022.
The airport charges will increase by 14.8 per cent in 2024, higher than the 12 per cent rise that was previously anticipated.
The Amsterdam hub, which will begin limiting flight capacity from 31 March 2024 in line with the Dutch government’s noise reduction plans, said the increase is necessary due to lingering travel restrictions and security staff shortages that led to airlines operating fewer flights than planned in 2022.
Schiphol CFO Robert Carsouw said in a statement: “We’ve notified the airlines and understand that they’re not very pleased. At the same time, it’s necessary for the quality at Schiphol and for our financial position. It’s also how the legislation works. In good years we are not allowed to profit from airport charges and so in bad years we cannot afford any losses.”
Carsouw acknowledged that Schiphol’s imposed passenger cap also affected flight numbers last year and, as a result, “we have calculated Schiphol’s share in the bad year of 2022 and, although not obliged, deducted it from the increase we are making… If we had not done that, the increase would have been higher”.
The airport said the charges that airlines pay to Schiphol are “strictly regulated by legislation” and used on facilities and services such as runway maintenance, security and cleaning. Inflation is not part of the settlement.
“Simply put, Schiphol is not permitted to make any profit from airport charges. If what Schiphol earns in airport charges exceeds the costs incurred from facilitating the airlines, the additional revenue is ‘given back’ to the airlines,” the airport said in a statement.
