The Schiphol slots schimozzle has just gotten a whole lot worse. The US Department of Transportation has ordered Dutch carriers KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Martinair (Netherlands), and TUI fly (Netherlands) to re-file their schedules for services to/from the United States within seven days for reconsideration.
This order is in response to the Dutch government’s implementation of slot constraints at Amsterdam Schiphol, which the DOT considers an “unlawful experimental regulation.”
The reduction or denial of slots at Schiphol for the IATA Summer 2024 season has resulted in the loss of 339 historic slots for Airlines for America (A4A) member carriers.
JetBlue Airways has been entirely denied slots for the 2024 summer season, despite recently starting service to Amsterdam.
The DOT approves a joint complaint by A4A and JetBlue against the Dutch government’s capacity reduction plan, which aims to reduce noise and emissions.
The DOT deems the Dutch government’s actions as unjustifiable, unreasonable, discriminatory, and anticompetitive, violating the US-EU Air Transport Agreement.
Delta Air Lines has taken legal action against the slot allocation decision, while easyJet has been instructed to cut two return flights per day for the summer 2024 season. KLM is also disappointed with the reduced slot allocation and is involved in legal proceedings to challenge the Dutch scheme.
