Schiphol strikes again and another bunch of flights will soon be scrapped — to the tune of 40,000 flights. Yep, you read that right! 😳
Mark Harbers, Minister of Infrastructure, decided to reduce the number of slights next year from 500,000 to 460,000.
Why is this happening? Well, it’s part of a larger scheme to reduce the total number of yearly flights to 440,000.
Schiphol keeps testing us
This comes after Schiphol made some less-than-ideal announcements. First, Schiphol will scrap 17,000 flights this year, because these slots were by flight companies that have since gone bankrupt.
Schiphol has already scrapped 14,500 flights this January and will further whittle numbers down to 483,000 flight paths by this winter.
Think travelling at night might cost you less? Think again, as, Schiphol wants to ban overnight flights altogether by the end of 2025.
(No wonder its ranking in global airports took a steep nosedive 👀.)
So, what now?
As Schiphol’s latest move involves a temporary reduction of flights, it’s technically allowed by European legislation. This means that, although the court originally denied the ministry’s request for these flight cuts, doing so temporarily is okay.
As explained by RTL Nieuws, “The minister may well hope that this is a stepping stone to further shrinkage, but that does not in itself make the decision illegal.”
READ MORE | Schiphol strikes again: Dutch airport to ban night flights within two years
What will happen as a result of these cuts? Other than the number of annual passengers dropping to 1.3 million, shorter flights (like Amsterdam to London) could be a whopping 25% more expensive. As if everything isn’t already expensive enough. 🙄
Ah, forgot about the prices of everything in the airport…. pic.twitter.com/dMjxEO4gW3
— Nik (@ThingsByNik) July 10, 2023
Customers aren’t the only ones bleeding money, of course. The Dutch economy will also suffer, as this decision can cost €13.6 billion per year for the country. Oof!
With all these price increases and flight cuts, it’s about time we consider other modes of transport. Road trip, anyone?
What do you think of these flight cuts? Tell us in the comments below!