DutchNews.nl - Move cheap flights from Schiphol, says KLM

Chartered flights and low-fare airlines like EasyJet and Ryanair should be moved from Schiphol Airport to regional airports, KLM director Jan Ernst de Groot told Saturday's Parool.

The move would leave more space for transfer passengers which account for 75% of all KLM's passengers, De Groot said..

De Groot told Parool that Schiphol handles more chartered and low-fair flyers than any other major international airport and transfer passengers are suffering. 'If you don't have transfer passengers, your international network of long-distance destinations starts to unravel,' he said.

Later this week the air travel industry, the local population and the government will discuss the future growth of Schiphol.

Perhaps it should be pointed out to Mr. De Groot - or it the journalists that simply take this over wholesale - that Ryanair does not fly from Schiphol, and has never flown from Schiphol. There are reports that it is in talks with Schiphol, but this would be quite an unusual step fro Ryanair as it tends to avoid large, expensive airports.
And who cares about transfer passengers anyway?

By Chas Conway-Stewart | May 26, 2008 11:51 AM

Chas Conway-Stewart writes "And who cares about transfer passengers anyway?"

Well, the so-called tax free shops do. With 3,4,5 hour layovers, the shops make a killing with bored passengers.

By Jay Vos | May 26, 2008 3:39 PM

Point well taken about Ryanair. Handicapped chronically ill et al. passengers are not always welcomed on Ryanair flights since they in many instances are limited to 30 minutes turn around time and thus prefer not to have those requiring wheelchairs or assistance in boarding slowing down their short gate times.
Of course, transfer passengers matter. If these passengers can not use Schiphol as a hub, then they will choose other airlines, especially for North American arrivals.
My main point is, however, that other regional airports such as Maastricht and Eindhoven and possibly Rotterdam, do not have direct rail service to the front door of their facilities. Therefore, any move that would shift budget carriers to other places should also require those regional airports affected to be connected to the general NS system.
Maastricht is a good example. While the main north-south NS line from Maastricht to the Randstadt runs seductively close (Elsloo-Beek Station), it is still about 2 or 3 kilometers away from the Maastricht-Aken Airport's front door. So before budget airlines passenger traffic is shifted to this airport, I suggest that the short NS link to the MST airport be completed. Otherwise the already congested traffic situation on the A2 between Maastricht and Sittard-Geleen will only become worsened. It will also make flying primarily available to a much smaller market segment leaving most middle-class passengers without an affordable transport option, especially for family health crisis and funerals.

By historyTechDoc | May 27, 2008 6:22 AM