The Netherlands risks losing out on nearly €14bn in tourism and trade revenue by stamping a flight volume limit at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, according to research.
Laying bare the cost consequences of such a move, the study by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) puts at €13.6bn the financial hit the Dutch economy will take from the country’s government deciding to push ahead with its controversial decision to limit flight activity at the Netherlands’ biggest and busiest airport.
The Dutch government wants to reduce flight volume at Schiphol to 440,000 a year in a bid to ease pressure on staff and airport infrastructure.
Critics, however, have warned that as well as the drop in tourism revenue, nearly €12bn worth of goods, through flown cargo, will be lost with other Dutch airports unable to take up the slack. As well as the financial hit, they have warned of job losses.
Pre-Covid, Schiphol took in more than 90% of in-bound cargo to the Netherlands and nearly the same percentage of tourist passengers.
