Last week it became clear that Schiphol will set a maximum number of passengers from the second week of July. This means that there will be no room for about 13,500 passengers every day. As a result, the airport has to cancel up to several hundred flights every day. It is currently unclear which flights are involved.
Minister Mark Harbers (Infrastructure) has ‘urgently appealed to all parties to first look at the interests of passengers who are in uncertainty’, his spokesman said. Slot coordinator ACNL is currently still working on calculating which airlines are allowed to fly from Schiphol at what times. After that, the airlines have to decide which flights to let or not go through.
“The slot coordinator is an independent institute,” says Harbers’ spokesperson. “We cannot interfere with that, nor can we say which flights should or should not be given priority. But of course we keep a finger on the pulse.”
The ministry has asked to make haste, so that passengers know as soon as possible whether their summer holiday will continue or if it falls into the water. “It is then up to the airlines to compensate travelers if necessary,” said the spokesman.
The House of Representatives is critical of the cancellation of the large number of summer flights. Last week Harbers spoke of a ‘terrible decision, knowing how much it means for people’ who would like to go on holiday by plane. But according to him, the alternative was even worse: with long queues at Schiphol and risks to public order.
JA21 Member of Parliament Maarten Goudzwaard will pose parliamentary questions to Minister Sigrid Kaag (Finance) on Tuesday about the cancellation of the summer flights. The Ministry of Finance is the largest shareholder of the national airport.