(Bloomberg) -- Schiphol Group NV said it will hike the fees it charges airlines over the next two years as it seeks to improve infrastructure and penalize carriers for noisy planes.
The owner of Amsterdam’s airport said it will raise airport charges by 41% next year, according to a statement on Thursday. The operator aims to increase the fee by an average of €15 ($16.3) per departing passenger in 2027 compared to this year.
“The increase in charges is driven by exceptionally high inflation and sharply increased interest rates over the past three years,” the airport operator said in a statement. It also includes compensation for the losses made during the pandemic years.
Schiphol has kicked off a plan to spend €6 billion toward upgrading the hub’s infrastructure over the next five years as it said passenger satisfaction was not at desired levels. It has also been advocating for measures to reduce noise.
The new charges will make it “significantly more expensive or even impossible to fly with noisier aircraft and to fly at night,” Schiphol Group Chief Financial Officer Robert Carsouw said in the statement.
Dutch carrier KLM slammed the move on Thursday, arguing it would make Schiphol the second-most expensive airport in Europe.
The decision will shift “budget overruns largely to the traveler,” KLM Chief Executive Officer Marjan Rintel said in a statement. “More expensive tickets are inevitable if you increase airport charges so drastically,” she said, adding that the airport will undermine its competitive position as an international hub.
Schiphol aims to further increase the fees by 5% in 2026 and reduce them by 7.5% in 2027. The charges will also be linked to aircraft type. Noisier planes will be charged more and night flights will become up to six times more expensive than a daytime flight.
On Wednesday, the UK government announced plans to increase air passenger duty for short-haul economy flights. Ryanair Holdings Plc said the decision would damage economic growth, making the UK less competitive for airlines to invest in capacity.
--With assistance from Kate Duffy.
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