Photo: ANP
KLM finds the plan to introduce a tax on connecting passengers at Schiphol Airport very worrying because it could result in a sharp decrease in the number of flights and many fewer passengers will travel with the airline. KLM stated this after a CDA motion for the tax was adopted by a majority of the House of Representatives. This tax should help households with their energy bills.
However, KLM says that this will have a detrimental effect on flight connections from Schiphol, meaning that travelers from the Netherlands may no longer be able to fly directly to certain destinations. As a result, travelers could choose other airports, which has major consequences for KLM because a lot of turnover is lost.
KLM says the Netherlands would become the only country in the world to have such a switching tax. The company relies largely on travelers who transfer from a European flight to an intercontinental flight at Schiphol. KLM states that six out of ten of the company’s passengers transfer at Schiphol.
“It goes without saying that KLM cannot simply accept a proposal that will have such immense consequences for us as a company and for the Netherlands as a whole,” a statement said. For example, ticket prices will “increase considerably” from January by 80 to 100 euros due to an increase in the CO2 tax and climate measures. “In this way you pile tax upon tax and scare passengers away to airports abroad,” the company says.
A Schiphol spokesperson said that as an important air traffic hub, the airport is of great value to the Dutch economy. The tax on transferring passengers could seriously undermine the Dutch competitive position, Schiphol said.
The motion also includes a tax on private aircraft. The proposal still must be approved by the Senate.