The Association of Dutch Cabin Crew says it fears the decision of an appeals court to allow flight cuts at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport will have a “significant negative impact on employment”.
The VNC union warned that jobs would be lost without any “meaningful environmental gains” because flights lost at Schiphol will simply shift to other European hubs, while Middle East competitors could swoop in and ‘rob’ the market.
On Friday, an appeals court ruled that the Dutch government was permitted to lower the cap on how many flights are allowed to operate to and from Schiphol Airport, overturning the decision of a lower court.
Under the current proposal, flights will start to be cut from the end of the year through October 2024. The Hague is targeting a 12% flight reduction in flight movements to just 440,000 flights per year.
The flight cap is meant to slash noise pollution that blights local residents around Schiphol, but the cabin crew union, which represents flight attendants at KLM, Transavia, TUI, Corendon, and easyJet, amongst others, argues that flights will simply shift to other airports with less strict environmental rules.
“In short: unfair competition and no reduction in CO2 emissions,” the union said on Friday.
“We remain committed to preserving employment, taking into account both economic and environmental impacts, in order to arrive at a balanced decision,” a statement from the VNC continued.
The International Air Transportation Association (IATA) said the decision to cut flights was a “retrograde” move that would cause confusion because there was no established international process for such an exercise.
Dutch airlines have lobbied for a different approach to dealing with noise pollution that would bar airlines from operating older and noisier planes to and from Schiphol and also cut early morning and late night flight operations.
