JetBlue told it will lose Amsterdam flights as airport tries to cut capacity
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.
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 said in a statement it was disappointed with Schiphol's reduced summer schedule, which would translate to a loss of "17 legs per day." The Dutch carrier said it still planned to contest the flight caps.
"KLM is focusing on the cassation case to show that the procedure followed does not comply with laws and regulations," KLM said in a statement. "In addition, the EU's balanced approach procedure is currently ongoing in which KLM shows with its 'cleaner, quieter, more efficient' plan that less noise can also be achieved without drastic reductions of flight movements."
Before the ACNL announced the summer flight reductions, KLM warned that it could face retaliatory measures in light of the JetBlue complaint to the DOT in October.
"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 October. "This is very damaging for KLM and endangers the network that connects the Netherlands with the rest of the world."
This story has been updated to include a statement from KLM.
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