The US Department of Transportation will require Netherlands-based airlines to file schedules for approval to operate to the United States for Summer 2024, a move triggered by cuts to capacity at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport. The schedule filing requirement is the first step of any countermeasures the DOT might enact, up to and including JetBlue‘s (unlikely to be implemented) request that KLM be blocked from operating at New York City’s JFK Airport.
The Department finds that, because the Netherlands has failed to follow the Balanced Approach, the Phase 1 capacity reduction measures being undertaken at AMS constitute unjustifiable and unreasonable activities under IATFCPA, and are in violation of the of the U.S.- EU Air Transport Agreement.
– DOT filing
As part of the Schiphol capacity cuts – ostensibly to reduce noise and emissions at the airport – US carriers lost 339 historical slots at Schiphol for next summer. Additionally, JetBlue was informed it would not have access to slots for Summer 2024. The carrier’s Summer 2023 operations launched with the explicit knowledge that the slots did not include historical rights.
The DOT notes that it has pursued diplomatic options since January 2023. While that may have helped JetBlue secure temporary slots for last summer, it did not forestall implementation of the new slot limits. As such, the US government now finds “that the Government of the Netherlands has imposed an unjustifiable and unreasonable restriction on access of an air carrier to the U.S.-Amsterdam market. We find that this practice, in the totality of the circumstances presented, constitutes violations of the U.S.-EU Agreement, and we conclude that approval of the complaints is warranted.”
For its part KLM notes it is leading the opposition to the new allocations, as it’s hub operations will be massively impacted. Nonetheless, it now also risks limits being placed on its US operations as a retaliatory move. Most recently, the US also has required schedule filings from Chinese airlines as those two countries work to restore capacity in the US-China market to the full allocations defined by their bilateral treaty. In that case the US limited Chinese airlines to only operate as many flights as US carriers.
One potential challenge with approaching the Amsterdam market similarly to China: US airlines operate twice as many flights between the US and Amsterdam than KLM does. Cutting to equal numbers would punish the US more. A different approach will need to be taken in this scenario for it to be effective.
The DOT also understands that it must balance the difference between traffic rights and airport slots. Still, the agency states it is “deeply troubled by the notion that new entrants will be completely foreclosed from slot access at AMS, without any secondary or alternative means to obtain access at AMS, particularly if those alternative options are precluded on a basis that is discriminatory toward unaligned or unaffiliated carriers.” This is clearly a nod to JetBlue’s claims.
A favor to ask while you're here...
Did you enjoy the content? Or learn something useful? Or generally just think this is the type of story you'd like to see more of? Consider supporting the site through a donation (any amount helps). It helps keep me independent and avoiding the credit card schlock.
Leave a Reply