SCHIPHOL REMAINS ON COLLISION COURSE WITH AIR CARGO SECTOR
Amsterdam Schiphol Airport planned increase in airport charges for cargo aircraft remains a major point of contention between the airport and the air cargo sector. This was evident during a hearing by the Dutch competition authority ACM on the 14th February. The key issue at stake is Schiphol’s decision to raise fees by an average of 41% this year for all airlines, citing necessary future investments in airport infrastructure and the repayment of COVID-related debts. During this session, stakeholders from the air cargo sector expressed significant concerns, emphasizing that the proposed fee hikes could disproportionately impact freight operations and potentially undermine Schiphol's status as a major air cargo hub.
Schiphol is pushing to discourage the use of older, noisier aircraft, such as the four-engine Boeing 747-400F and early versions of the Boeing 777-200F, which together account for approximately 40% of Schiphol’s cargo flights.
Previous calculations indicate that airport charges for these freighters will rise between 56% and 100% during daytime operations this year, escalating up to 250% over time. The situation is even more severe for night flights, with fees for Boeing 747-400F operations surging by a staggering 700%. These drastic increases will also impact home carrier KLM/Martinair, which operates four Boeing 747-400F aircraft.
The air cargo industry has previously condemned the fee hikes as ‘excessive,’ with some freight managers warning that the move could deliver a fatal blow to Schiphol’s standing as a leading European cargo hub. Despite prior discussions with the industry, Schiphol remains resolute in its decision to impose higher charges on the noisiest cargo aircraft.
Air Cargo Netherlands (ACN) confirmed that it reiterated its objections to the measure during the ACM hearing noting “Our objection is that there are no alternatives for this mode of transport in the short term. The loss of cargo planes will affect Schiphol’s network quality.” It added: “Cargo flights are relatively footloose. They can relatively easily divert to the surrounding airports and a large proportion will do so. ACN also argued that the decision to penalise some aircraft types effectively meant the airport “is taking the legislator’s seat”, against ICAO policies on airport charges. Section II, article 8(ii) of the ICAO states ‘’Noise-related charges should be non-discriminatory between users and not be established at such levels to be prohibitively high for the operation of certain aircraft’’. ACN added: “If the high tariffs are implemented, some of the freighters will be diverted to other airports. This will also put pressure on Schiphol’s network function for passenger aircraft.”
Source: NT.nl, the Loadstar