Amsterdam Schiphol Airport – one of the busiest in Europe – announced on Thursday plans to extend the limit on the number of passengers departing from the airport until early 2023.
Schiphol’s management said it made the decision after consulting with the airlines, which, by the way, are “not at all happy about this,” according to a press release.
The restrictions are expected to last until the end of March, although the air harbor said it will review the situation again towards the end of the year to see if it is “possible to increase the limit at the end of January.”
“Schiphol has made this choice to provide travelers with reliable and timely departures and airlines with predictability and stability,” the press release reads. “At the same time, the airport is working hard to improve safety levels.”
Airport officials say they are working with security companies and unions to improve the situation. The main problem is still related to the lack of staff.
The press release did not provide specific figures for bandwidth limits. It is only said that the slot coordinators will work with the airlines to meet the requirements of the airport.
Schiphol Airport is one of the busiest airports in the world in terms of international passenger traffic. According to the Airports Council International, in 2021 it became the world’s No. 3 in terms of the number of international passengers, second only to Dubai and Istanbul airports.
The passenger flow restriction was first implemented at the airport in June, with Schiphol blaming higher-than-expected travel demand and the job market.
In August, the airport announced that it would extend restrictions on the number of passengers until September.
In September, the number of passengers departing from the airport was limited to 67,500, the airport said in a statement. In October this number should be increased to 69,500 per day.