Schiphol is expecting a significant increase in usage fees and more expensive flights

Schiphol thinks that the fees to use the airport will have to increase significantly over the next three years. The conversations about the fees are ongoing with airlines. Therefore, financial director Robert Carsouw did not want to name a percentage. "But it is no secret that the fee increase will be significant." Companies will likely compensate for this by raising the price of airline tickets.

The airport needs more money to afford the record number of investments in 2029. Schiphol also wants to increase its commercial performance, for example, in shop operations, by renewing its offerings. New loans will be needed for this, but their income will have to go up before this can happen.

According to Carsouw, a passenger currently pays 45 euros for an airline ticket to depart from Schiphol. Personnel costs amount to 35 euros, and 10 euros go to infrastructure, which will require significant investments in the coming years. "That 10 euros will, therefore, increase, but it will not become 100 euros," said the financial director at a press conference.

Schiphol booked a much higher profit of 224 million euros in the first half of this year than the 15 million euros of last year. Carsouw said, "It is good news that it is improving, but it is still nowhere near enough to pay for the investments. If we look at the costs of investments, we end up 188 million euros in the red. That is how much emptier the bank account has actually become."

This is why the airport feels obligated to ask the airlines for more money. The last time this happened, a court case was filed because the airlines felt the price increase was too high, but the courts ultimately ruled in Schiphol's favor.

The usage fees will be determined in the next few months. According to the airlines, an increase of 50 percent has been discussed.