Trump administration threatens retaliation if Schiphol flight cap affects U.S. airlines
The Trump administration is threatening retaliation against the Netherlands if American airlines are impacted by the Dutch government’s plans to reduce flight movements at Schiphol Airport in November.
On Saturday, in barely veiled language, Donald Trump’s transport secretary Sean Duffy said that European countries making “unwarranted” interventions in the EU-US aviation agreement would face similar consequences as Mexico, Parool reported.
He had just announced that the Trump administration would restrict Mexican airlines' operations in retaliation for Mexico reducing the capacity of Mexico City’s overcrowded airport. According to Duffy, Mexico unilaterally revoked American airlines’ takeoff and landing rights “in flagrant violation” of the aviation agreement with the U.S.
He called it a “warning” to any country considering to “exploit” the U.S. Duffy said that, with Trump, they are closely monitoring European countries to ensure that their measures to reduce noise at airports do not result in unwarranted operational restrictions for U.S. airlines.
The Netherlands is the only European Union country planning to cap flight movements to reduce noise levels. The Dutch government will reduce the maximum number of flight movements at Schiphol Airport from 500,000 per year to 478,000 per year in November. Airlines could lose takeoff and landing rights they currently hold.
According to Washington, if American airlines lose their takeoff and landing rights, the EU is violating its aviation agreements with the U.S. Delta Air Lines could be affected. The KLM partner currently operates 17 flights daily at Schiphol. And countermeasures from the Trump administration will likely affect KLM. The U.S. is the Dutch airline’s most important intercontinental market.
The American threat plays a role in the lawsuit the aviation sector has filed with the Council of State, hoping to scrap the government’s downsizing plans. The government believes that the cut to flight movements is unavoidable due to a court ruling in March last year, stating that the government was acting unlawfully by insufficiently protecting locals from aircraft noise around Schiphol.
