Schiphol posts €158 million loss in first half of 2021

The airports that fall under Schiphol Group suffered a loss of 158 million euros in the first half of this year. This was mainly due to a decrease in the number of travelers as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Without government support, the outcome would have been much worse. In addition to Schiphol, the company also owns the airports of Rotterdam and Lelystad and the majority of the shares of Eindhoven Airport.

According to Schiphol, the recovery of air traffic is modest. In the first half of this year, Schiphol handled 5.6 million passengers. That is much less than the 13.1 million travelers in the first six months of last year. The crisis only struck in the spring of 2020, so Schiphol operated normally during the first period of the year. In the peak year 2019, 34.5 million travelers were processed in six months. The number of flight movements was a quarter lower at over 86,000. More than 242,000 flights were performed in the period in 2019.

At the other airports in the group there was also a sharp drop in the number of flight movements and passengers. At Eindhoven Airport, the number of passengers dropped by three quarters to 288,109 and the number of transport movements to 3,745. At Rotterdam The Hague Airport, the number of passengers fell by almost 80 percent to 55,484 and there were 690 flight movements, a decrease of almost 73 percent.

Without government support through the NOW regulation, the airport group's loss would have been even higher. Schiphol reports a result of minus 258 million euros if the subsidies and unrealized value adjustments are not taken into account. The airport group managed to reduce costs by a fifth. Schiphol, for example, said goodbye to hundreds of employees. In addition, a quarter less was spent on investment projects than planned.

According to CEO Dick Benschop, 2021 has shown a recovery so far. "But less than we expected." Due to higher vaccination coverage and the gradual lifting of travel restrictions, the airport boss is moderately positive for the second half of the year.