Schiphol announces biggest investment in history as Dutch gov't insists on downsizing
Schiphol announced that passenger numbers continue to grow and its “biggest investment plan in history” to improve its infrastructure and services for travelers and airlines. The airport plans to invest 6 billion euros in five years, Schiphol said with its interim results. At the same time, the Ministry of Infrastructure is set on its course to downsize Schiphol, sources told De Telegraaf. The Ministry’s plans for runway use at the airport will mean that there will only be room for 400,000 flight movements per year.
The airport reported on Friday that passenger numbers increased by 11 percent to 31.8 million passengers in the first half of the year, and the number of flights grew 12 percent to 230,417 takeoffs and landings. The Schiphol Group’s underlying net result is 99 million euros, but operational cash flow after investments is -188 million euros.
“Despite a smooth operational performance this May and summer holidays, overall passenger satisfaction is not at the required level,” the airport said. The airport will, therefore, invest 6 billion euros in the next five years into improving its infrastructure and service delivery for passengers and airlines.
“Our infrastructure is the foundation of our service, but it is currently far from what we want to offer our passengers as a quality airport in the Netherlands,” Schiphol CEO Pieter van Oord said. He called the biggest investment in Schiphol’s history “crucial to bring back passenger satisfaction and top service to our airlines.”
While Schiphol continues to grow, the government remains focused on downsizing.
A recently published memo for a new airport traffic decision (LVB), drafted by former Infrastructure Minister Mark Harbers, shows that the government wants Schiphol to work with both enforcement points and the current preferential runway use system (NNHS). With the NNHS, runway use is changed during the day to give different areas around the airport rest in turns. The system is currently in use, but it was never legally established by previous Cabinets, and as a result, no enforcement is possible.
Sources at Air Traffic Control Netherlands (LVNL) told the Telegraaf that using the two systems simultaneously will result in only 400,000 take-offs and landings per year at the airport. The “duplication” results in much less flexibility, which means less room for flight movements.
The Ministry of Infrastructure told the newspaper that it plans to combine the systems because there are “benefits” to be gained from this. “It leads to better legal protection through enforcement points and, on balance, less nuisance through strict preferential runway use,” the Ministry said. It added that it was calculating two scenarios with 460,000 and 500,000 annual flight movements.
Sources at LVNL also said that the proposed “siesta,” in which the Aalsmeerbaan and Zwanenburbaan runways are closed between 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m., would cause “chaos” at Schiphol. “It leads to daily delays because it is not feasible.”
Minister Barry Madlener of Infrastructure and Water Management would not answer the newspaper’s questions about the siesta. He only said that he would soon provide more clarity about the status of Schiphol's downsizing plans.
