Error to curtail flights at Schiphol

KLM could lose thousands of take-off and landing rights at Amsterdam airport Schiphol next year, following an error at the airport that will reduce the number of allowed flights in the short term, the airport's CEO Gerlach Cerfontaine said.

Schiphol is having to scale back the number of flights next year to avoid breaching current regulations on noise levels in the area.

A government report published shows that the airport had miscalculated its noise levels and overestimated the number of flights possible in 2004 under current regulations.

Without change to current noise regulations, Cerfontaine said he expects flight numbers in 2004 to drop to 340-350,000 from an earlier estimate of 415,000.

For 2002, 401,385 flights were recorded to and from Schiphol.

Spokesperson for KLM, Bart Koster said the airline assumes the government will be able to change the regulations in time for next year's planning at the airport.

The new schedule at Schiphol will start from November 1.

The Schiphol CEO also warned that the cut in flights could severely weaken KLM's negotiating position with Air France on a possible alliance.

The KLM spokesperson said that the talks with possible partners have so far been unaffected.

The Dutch junior minister for transport Melanie Schultz Van Haegen acknowledged yesterday at a news conference that Schiphol's growth could be severely limited in the short term, as changing the regulations will take time.