Could Amsterdam See Airlines Leaving The Airport Under New Rules?

Summary

• Night restrictions are forcing airlines to reconsider strategies due to capacity limits and aircraft rules.
• Cargo and low-cost carriers are most impacted by curfews, as they rely on night operations.
• Safety concerns have been raised as curfews increase pressure on pilots to fly faster.

As politicians clamp down on noise pollution around airports, many airlines have been forced to review their operations and growth strategies due to capacity and aircraft restrictions. More specifically, airports in Belgium and the Netherlands have recently been in the news as officials attempt to introduce so-called nightcaps on flights, either limiting or sometimes looking to ban flights that operate in the early morning hours.

It has now emerged that

Transavia

– the Dutch low-cost arm of the

Air France-KLM

– may leave its main hub,

Amsterdam Schiphol Airport

, altogether. Similarly, airlines at

Brussels Airport

are having to review their development plans as the local government moves to restrict night flights heavily.

The real losers: cargo and low-cost carriers

Indeed, this particularly affects cargo airlines that rely on the quiet early hours of the morning for the bulk of their operations. A report by Eurocontrol published in 2009 found that the most “significant segment in the night is indisputably all-cargo.”

Eurocontrol found that nearly 50% of all cargo flights occur during this time. Cargo planes are also quite old. In Europe, the report found that 50% of the cargo fleet is older than 23 years. As they are often second-hand aircraft, sometimes converted from use as passenger airliners, they are less expensive to procure. As such, cargo airlines can afford to keep their planes on the ground during the day and only use them in the wee small hours.

In recent years, another sector has joined the cargo fleet operating at night. Low-cost airlines are characterized by high aircraft use rates. When grounded, planes are not making money. As such, aircraft operating for low-cost airlines tend to begin the day a lot earlier than full-service carriers. At Amsterdam Schiphol, between 05:00 and 06:30, Transavia almost exclusively dominates departures, per Flightradar24 data.

Transavia could leave Amsterdam Schiphol

For Transavia, night flights are crucial. The airline’s CEO Marcel de Nooijer told local radio station NPO Radio 1 that Transavia needs each aircraft to operate at least three round trips from Amsterdam for the model to work. He clarified:

“We want to operate three times a day because that means we carry as many seats as possible, and that keeps flying affordable. And the night is a very important part of that.”

Schiphol is heavily slot-constrained with capacity limitations at any moment, already posing a severe threat to future growth for all airlines, particularly for AMS-based KLM and Transavia.

One solution is to purchase bigger planes. That is precisely what Transavia decided to do when it announced a switch from an all-Boeing to an eventually all-Airbus fleet. As Simple Flying reported last month, the introduction of the Airbus A321 means an increase of just over 40 seats per flight compared with Transavia’s current Boeing 737-800s.

Adding to the pressure, the proposed night ban poses yet another issue for Transavia, given that, according to De Nooijer, it holds roughly 73% of all the night slots at Schiphol.

When asked whether Transavia would leave Amsterdam Schiphol, the CEO said:

“I think we are on a timeline that does not rule out anything.”

Night restrictions and safety concerns

One aspect of curfews that is not discussed often is their impact on safety. Some argue that while curfews may benefit locals in terms of noise pollution, they have an overall effect on passenger safety and crew pressures. Patrick Arpino, Professional Affairs Director at the European Cockpit Association – representing over 40,000 pilots on aviation safety and social rights, underlined his concerns about curfews at a conference this month in Brussels. Arpino is also an easyJet pilot onboard the A320.

“In practical terms, what I see on the line is restrictions such as curfew and recently I see a lot more of these curfews. I’m based in Paris, I see a curfew in Paris, but I see curfews developing elsewhere too. In my opinion, this is the easy solution to a very concrete problem.”

His comments came during a discussion in Brussels at the Aviation Conference organized by the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Elaborating during a panel discussion on social standards for aircrew, he said:

“The problem with curfews, especially when they’re rigid, is that they end up having the pilot flying faster. This is in order not to be blocked by the curfew and having to divert. So you spent all day flying fast so you make sure you get back to base that has a curfew.

“So you will spend all day flying fast. You’re not supposed to. But then the impact is significant and then we divert and then that has an impact on the passenger and so on. So what can we do to address this issue in a very meaningful manner, without having to use that bad solution? Because in my opinion, curfews are bad solutions.”

Back in 2004, an announcement was made that had a severe impact on the Belgian economy as a result of nightcap restrictions. Cargo giant DHL revealed that year that it would not be developing its European cargo hub at Brussels Zaventem but would shift its operation to Leipzig, Germany. This resulted in redundancies and a significant decrease in the carrier’s existing operation in Brussels.

Political consensus was crucial for DHL’s development in Brussels. However, given pressure from residents over noise concerns, the government could not secure sufficient night flights to satisfy DHL’s growth plans.

At the time, two of the coalition parties in government, namely the Green Party and the social-liberal group Spirit, were against approving DHL’s request to make Brussels its European hub. Separately, after the June 2004 elections, conflict between two regional governments (Brussels-Capital and Flanders) over the distribution of night flights meant an agreement was almost impossible.

Frustrated, DHL announced in October that it would be shifting to Leipzig, an airport in Germany located outside the city, allowing the carrier to expand in the long term. The debate over overnight flights has resurfaced again in Belgium, with the Flemish government gradually imposing restrictions over the next decade.

Schiphol’s night ban is expected to be in place by the end of 2025 at the latest, but airlines will continue to oppose it.

Is a night flight ban beneficial or detrimental? Let us know in the comments below.

• Amsterdam Schiphol Airport

  IATA/ICAO Code:

  AMS/EHAM

  Country:

  Netherlands

  CEO:

  Ruud Sondag

  Passenger Count :

  20,887,144 (2020)

  Runways :

  18R/36L ‘Polderbaan’ – 3,800m (12,467ft) |
  06/24 ‘Kaagbaan’ – 3,500m (11,483ft) |
  09/27 ‘Buitenveldertbaan’ – 3,453m (11,329ft) |
  18L/36R ‘Aalsmeerbaan’ – 3,400m (11,155ft) |
  18C/36C ‘Zwanenburgbaan’ – 3,300m (10,827ft) |
  04/22 ‘Oostbaan’ – 2,014m (6,608ft)