Schiphol Group ends 2020 with €563 million loss

Royal Schiphol Group closed coronavirus year 2020 with a loss of 563 million euros. The airports managed by the group suffered enormously under the coronavirus pandemic, with travel bans and restrictions resulting in passenger numbers dropping by 70 percent, the company announced on Friday, ANP reports.

The company saw its net-turnover decrease by 57 percent to 688 million euros. The total number of passengers at all of the Group's airports dropped by 70.9 percent to 23.5 million. Schiphol accounted for 20.9 million passengers last year, a decrease of 71 percent. Eindhoven Airport saw passenger numbers drop by 68.6 percent to 2.1 million, and Rotterdam The Hague Airport saw a 76.9 percent decrease to 0.5 million passengers last year.

The Royal Schiphol Group got 112 million euros in government support through the NOW regulation, which subsidizes employees' wages. Further government support was not granted, the airport operator said. In order to maintain sufficient liquidity, Schiphol issued bonds worth over 2.2 billion euros and arranged other credit facilities.

The group also cut costs. Activities were scaled down and measures were taken in the workforce. No bonuses were paid out to management, and investments were reduced by around 25 percent.

According to Schiphol CEO Dick Benschop, national and international cooperation between governments, airports, airlines and travel organizations is desperately needed to make safe and responsible travel possible.

"We are currently in a lockdown, but the overall outlook for 2021 is positive, although there are major uncertainties," he said. "Travel protocols based on testing regimes and intensification of vaccinations instead of travel bans and quarantine measures will determine the way forward."