Schiphol’s airport authority and local council Haarlemmermeer are to ban valet services from using the airport drop-off and pick-up points from next year.

They say the move is necessary to combat the unregulated growth in valet companies, who arrange to pick up travellers’ cars at the airport departure deck and take them somewhere else for safe keeping, until the passenger returns.

‘The number of cars using the terminal roads is getting out of hand,’ a council spokeswoman told the Telegraaf. ‘We’ve had jams and a number of serious incidents, so we want to put an end to it.’

Some 20 valet parking companies operate at Schiphol and they are furious about the plan. ‘We are being tackled so that Schiphol can keep exclusive rights with its P6 valet parking service,’ Karim Boukhidous of VIP Parking told the paper.

‘This is unfair competition and an abuse of power. Furthermore, we are needed because of the shortage of parking places.’

The council said that it is not banning all valet parking, just services based on the public roads. Companies are free to make agreements with Schiphol airport about operating safely, with a customer service counter in the car park, she said.