Plane ticket prices skyrocket over snow chaos at Schiphol Airport
Airline ticket prices are skyrocketing due to the chaos at Schiphol, the Telegraaf reported. Some 3,500 flights to and from Schiphol Airport have been canceled since January 2 due to snow. KLM is deliberately increasing prices in order to accommodate stranded travelers before new ones. Scarcity also plays a role.
A KLM spokesperson confirmed to the newspaper that the airline was deliberately increasing prices. “This way, we prevent people who don’t have a ticket from deciding on a last-minute trip to places like London. We want to keep those flights available for the people who are currently stranded.”
Stranded travelers who rebook their flights won’t have to pay the extra amount as long as they book in the same class to the same destination, the spokesperson said.
According to Rico Luman, an aviation economist at ING, scarcity also plays a role. Many thousands of people missed their flights and have to be rebooked on existing capacity. “Shortages are developing, causing prices for next week to skyrocket,” he told the Telegraaf. “The capacity that’s still available isn’t enough to absorb all the flights that are currently canceled.”
The number of Schiphol travelers affected by the past week of winter weather is approaching 500,000. The weather is considered force majuere - situations beyond the airlines’ control, but airlines are still required to offer an alternative. Travelers are always entitled to a replacement flight, insurance expert Bas Knopperts of Independer told the newspaper. “Or they are entitled to reimbursement of the ticket price if the flight doesn’t depart at all.”
According to Paul Vaneker of EUClaim, the total damage amount could run into the “many millions of euros.”
