JetBlue barred from Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport for summer 2024 season

JetBlue Airways Corp. was denied the right to serve Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport next summer as the Dutch government’s capacity restrictions at the European hub limit available slots for all airlines.

Airlines with historical rights to allocations at Schiphol Airport will have to reduce their slots by 3.1% as the first stage of capacity cuts will kick in next year, Hugo Thomassen, managing director of Airport Coordination Netherlands, or ACNL, told Bloomberg on Thursday. JetBlue was among 24 new entrants to the airport for the summer season who were not granted any landing and takeoff rights, Thomassen said. 

JetBlue, which only started serving Amsterdam as its third transatlantic destination in August, previously said it would ask US authorities to bar KLM NV from John F. Kennedy International Airport by way of retaliation. 

ACNL informed the KLM group which includes Transavia that it will have to reduce its historical allocation by 5,700 slots compared to this summer. Delta Air Lines Inc. has been told to cut 252 landing and takeoff rights and Easyjet Plc will have to lose 693 slots.

The Dutch government ultimately plans to cut annual flights at the state-owned Schiphol by about 10% to 452,500 to reduce noise pollution. The restrictions have triggered objections from airlines including the Dutch flagship carrier KLM, which is still partly owned by the government. 

KLM is “disappointed” by its allocation for the summer schedule which runs from the end of March until October 2024, the company said in an emailed statement. The airline said it’s “focusing on” its court appeal which seeks to show the government’s implementation of next year’s cuts “does not comply with laws and regulations.”

KLM had already anticipated it would have to fly 17 fewer daily flights for the summer season starting in March next year. The airline will have to lose some European destinations as a result of the slot constraints, which impacts its long-haul business, KLM Chief Executive Officer Marjan Rintel said in an interview with Bloomberg earlier this week.