Plan to close two Schiphol runways for 2 hours per day could cost KLM 14% of flights

A plan by the outgoing government to close Schiphol’s two busiest runways for two hours per day to give locals a bit of a noise break could cost KLM up to 14 percent of its flights, sources told Up in the Sky.

According to the aviation news site, the outgoing Cabinet wants to ban takeoffs and landings on two Schiphol runways between 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. every day. Outgoing Minister Mark Harbers of Infrastructure is looking for ways to reduce noise pollution around the airport for local residents after court rulings ordering the government to do more to protect locals’ interests. Schiphol has been violating noise standards for years.

That short break would be a blow to KLM, sources told Up in the Sky. Using Schiphol as a hub, the Dutch airline connects European flights to intercontinental flights, which typically start taking off between 3:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. The break would prevent that connection.

According to insiders, it could cost KLM 7 to 14 percent of its flights. “It is a tragedy for KLM, this is a pure attack on the hub,” one insider said. The runway break should take effect in 2025.

“It will be a bloodbath because other competing airports continue to operate as usual. Traffic will move there because the transfer is faster,” aviation expert Etienne van Zuijlen told the Telegraaf.

The government also wants to reduce the number of flights that can take off and land at Schiphol Airport at night from 32,000 to 27,000 per year and ban loud planes from using the airport at night. KLM previously called these plans “harmful and disproportionate.”