Plans by low-cost airlines to operate flights between Schiphol and North America pose no threat to either the national airport or KLM, according to a study by the environment ministry’s policy institute KiM  published on Thursday.

Because Schiphol is expected to reach its ceiling of 500,000  flights this year, there will be little room for newcomers, the Financieele Dagblad said. Moreover, alternative airport Lelystad will not be operational until 2019. The report also notes that long-haul budget airlines would target niche markets.

Airline Norwegian announced it is going to open a pilot base at Schiphol last October and the airline’s director Bjorn Kjos has stated there is big demand for Amsterdam flights in the US. ‘It is certainly an interesting market  for long-haul flights,’ he said.

Established European airlines such as Air France-KLM and Lufthansa are being challenged on the home front by fare slashers like Ryanair, EasyJet and WizzAir. And there is fierce competition on Asian routes from Emirates and Turkish Airlines.

Loss-making

At the same time, one-third of Air France’s intercontinental flights are loss-making as are 10% of KLM’s.  Air France-KLM plans to win back some terrritory with its own budget subsidiary Boost, but it is uncertain whether its employees will sanction the move.

Ryanair is to begin feeder services later this year for Norwegian’s long-haul services, coordinating the movement of passengers and their baggage. With 117 million passengers in 2016, Ryanair is Europe’s largest airline.

Norwegian flies to Los Angeles and New York from London, Paris and Oslo. The environment ministry’s report notes that Iceland’s WOW Air and French Blue also fly to the US. JetBlue, the American budget carrier might also be planning services to Schiphol, it added.