The Schiphol Group, made up of Amsterdam, Eindhoven and Rotterdam airports, booked net profit of €22 million last year, compared with a loss of €77 million in 2022.

The airport group said on Friday that although things are looking up, operational activities, such as security, cleaning and maintenance are still loss-making, and higher costs, investments and necessary improvements in quality will put the group’s finances “under pressure” in future.

Last year marked a “turning point” for the group, Schiphol chief Ruud Sondag said in a statement. “Conditions have improved both for workers and travellers, and we are not done yet. We must continue to invest in quality for airlines, travellers and workers.”

However, he said, recent challenges such as Covid, inflation and quality investments have had a “severe impact on the financial position and operational costs.”

“Charging the true cost of airport operations to its users as well as collecting historical settlements via airport charges will be essential to continue Schiphol’s development,” he said. “A quality airport comes at a cost.”

In November Schiphol announced take off and landing fees would go up by 15% instead of a projected 12%.

This year the Amsterdam airport expects to process between 460,000 and 483,000 flights carrying up to 69 million passengers.

Plans to limit the number of flights from Schiphol from November to 452,000 are “unlikely”, caretaker infrastructure minister Mark Harbers said in January, because the European Commission is still studying the move.