New government must help pay for Schiphol security, say Dutch employers

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

The new government must pay part of the costs for security at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport, according to Hans de Boer, chairman of the largest Dutch employers’ association VNO-NCW.

Major Schiphol rivals get financial support from their governments, he said.

‘A level playing field is essential to compete fairly. Costs for a company like KLM should be brought into line with its rivals. Otherwise we will price ourselves out of the market,’  De Boer said in an interview with the Telegraaf on Wednesday.

Security costs at Schiphol have risen by 51% in recent years and are borne by airlines using Schiphol. They pay an annual €282m for security, compared to €182m at Frankfurt and €180m at Brussels. Airlines pay nothing for security at Istanbul which is growing rapidly.

De Boer was on a working visit to KLM on Tuesday where he told KLM president Pieter Elbers that the combination of Schiphol and KLM with its 159 connections worldwide are vital elements in attracting multinational companies to the Netherlands.

‘With our well-educated workforce this makes the Netherlands an ideal place to locate a company,’ De Boer said.

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