Amsterdam Schiphol Airport to Increase Airport Charges by 37% Over Three Years

Amsterdam Schiphol Airport is set to raise the airport charges collected from airlines by 37% over the next three years.

The charges will be increased by 41% in 2025, 5% in 2026, and then reduced by 7.5% in 2027. This will result in an average increase of 15 euros compared to 2024. The fees are revisited every three years and the current rates were set in 2021.

The increase is to compensate for the sharp inflation and interest rate rises over the past three years, as well as to cover the losses incurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The charges for 2022 to 2024 are more than 550 million euros lower than the cost of providing services. Profit-making from airport charges is not permitted and they are allocated for airport operations, among other things. The airport company voluntarily contributed 100 million euros to mitigate the increase.

Charges are divided into seven categories based on aircraft type, with lower charges for low-noise aircraft and higher charges for high-noise aircraft. Night-time takeoffs and landings are approximately 3 to 6 times more expensive than during the day, especially takeoffs at night. It is necessary to invest 6 billion euros over the next five years in infrastructure, services, and labor conditions improvement.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, the largest airline based at Schiphol Airport, criticized the increase, stating that such hikes are not being implemented at other European airports and will significantly impact both travelers and the aviation industry.