It looks like JetBlue may have to scrap its short-lived routes to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) next summer.
Airlines without historic rights at Schiphol will lose slots for summer 2024, according to Airport Coordination Netherlands, the slot coordinator that oversees the Amsterdam airport, as Schiphol moves forward with a controversial plan to cut flight capacity in an effort to curb noise pollution and traffic.
Hugo Thomassen, a managing director at the ACNL, said in a statement to TPG that 24 airlines would lose slots at Schiphol as a result of the move.
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The proposed cuts would reduce Schiphol’s capacity from 500,000 flights a year to around 452,000.
This means JetBlue, which introduced flights to Schiphol in August, will lose its ability to fly to Amsterdam next summer. Currently, JetBlue flies two daily routes to Schiphol — one from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and the other from Boston Logan International Airport (BOS).
JetBlue said in a statement that it would work to maintain its presence in Amsterdam despite the ACNL decision.
“We believe the U.S. and Dutch Governments have an obligation under our historic Open Skies Agreement to ensure that JetBlue is granted continued access at Amsterdam’s only viable airport,” the New York-based carrier said in a statement.
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Even airlines that do have historic rights at Schiphol will receive 3.1% fewer slots for summer 2024, impacting 84 airlines at the airport, Thomassen said.
In response to the proposed flight cuts, JetBlue filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Transportation in October, asking the DOT to ban Dutch carrier KLM from JFK in anticipation that it would lose its slots at Schiphol. JetBlue argued its possible eviction from Amsterdam would run counter to the bilateral “Open Skies” agreement that governs flights between the U.S. and the Netherlands.
Schiphol’s plan to reduce flight capacity has been met with significant pushback from multiple airlines, including KLM, which uses Schiphol as a major hub.
KLM, along with Delta Air Lines, Corendon Airlines, EasyJet and Tui Airways, had filed a lawsuit to block the proposed cuts. KLM did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
Previously, a Dutch court ruled in favor of those airlines, but that ruling was overturned by a Dutch appeals court in July, allowing the proposed measures to go into effect as early as 2024.
KLM reiterated after JetBlue filed a complaint with the DOT that Schiphol’s proposed cuts could lead to retaliatory measures taken against the Dutch carrier.
“We have repeatedly pointed out to the Dutch government the possible consequences that a forced contraction could bring in the form of retaliation,” KLM said in a statement in October. “This is very damaging for KLM and endangers the network that connects the Netherlands with the rest of the world.”
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