Airlines fined for improper use of Schiphol, Eindhoven Airport slots

British Airways, easyJet, TUI Airlines, and Vueling were fined up to more than a million euros for using the wrong slots at Schiphol and Eindhoven airports. The Aviation Authority of the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT Aviation Authority) issued the fines.

This includes conducting unauthorized night flights in 2022. The ILT Aviation Authority said that enforcement is a priority to combat unnecessary noise disturbance for people who live near the airports. In addition, allocated slots, a period of time in which an aircraft is allowed to land or take off, were not used and not returned. Fines have also been imposed for this.

EasyJet was issued four fines of a total of 930,000 euros. British Airways were fined 50,000 euros, and TUI Airlines received two fines worth 60,000 euros. Vueling must pay a 25,000 euro fine. British Airways, easyJet, and Vueling made the offenses at Schiphol. TUI Airlines made the mistakes at Schiphol and Eindhoven airport.

Only flights with a designated time slot of 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. are allowed to land or depart from the airports unless it is a case of Force Majeure, like unforeseen weather circumstances or technical problems on the aircraft. This is meant to combat sound disturbances for nearby residents.

The fines' sum depends on the sound category of the plane. Government flights, emergency landings, and humanitarian flights are exempt from the slot usage rules.

The slot abuse policy came into effect in November 2021. This made it much harder for companies to invoke force majeure. This was also the date from which the ILT Aviation Authority was allowed to issue fines when the slot rules were broken.

Due to these tightened rules, the number of violations in 2022 will be much higher than in previous years. The authority has seen better compliance with the regulations since 2023. For example, easyJet no longer commits violations on night slots.