Full-freighter flights at AMS down by 20 percent this winter

With Amsterdam Schiphol Airport at its annual maximum for air traffic movements and the rejection of a proposal that full-freighter operations at the airport receive exemption from IATA and European Union slot allocation rules, industry associations The Netherlands Trade Union Confederation (FNV) and Air Cargo Netherlands (ACN) expect 20 percent of freighter flights to and from the airport will be cancelled this winter.

With about 60 percent of airfreight at AMS moving on freighters, the reduced freighter traffic during the winter will result in a 10 percent decrease in total cargo volume, ACN said. As of Nov. 1, about 30 cargo flights per week will move to other airports from AMS.

In addition to recent announcements that Singapore Airlines moving some of its freighter traffic to Brussels Airport and AirBridgeCargo moving flights from AMS to Liege Airport, Emirates SkyCargo is moving freighter traffic from AMS to Brussels, Copenhagen and Frankfurt airports.

Freighter operations at AMS are struggling to secure slots because regulations stipulate that to keep slots, 80 percent of flights must occur on time and follow the correct route, which is difficult for freighters that often change schedules to accommodate customer needs. Industry groups proposed a local rule that would exempt them from those requirements, but it was rejected by low-cost and leisure carriers at the airport.