Schiphol Airport‘s first six months marked the beginning of a turnaround for passengers, employees and the airport's future plans, the group stated. Passengers had a good travel experience again and Schiphol intensified its initiatives to improve working conditions. Another development that characterised the first six months was the plan Schiphol presented to be quieter, cleaner and better. The group's underlying net result for the first half year was €44 million, compared to a loss of €29 million for the first half year of 2022. The result is €15 million in the first half year of 2023 compared to a net result of €65 million in the first half year of 2022. While passenger numbers compared to last year are higher, the aviation business is loss making due to a higher level of operational costs.
CEO Ruud Sondag: “First and foremost, our focus was to provide passengers a pleasant journey again during the holiday season. I think for now it is fair to say we have achieved this and everyone at Schiphol can be proud of that. However, we are not there yet. For the sake of passengers, we and our partners have to keep improving. The new standard for Schiphol is that we put our money where our mouth is. In a short period of time we have substantially improved the experience of passengers, improved rest areas for employees, ordered nearly fifty lifting aids, made the decision to build a new, modern baggage basement and presented eight decisions that will lead to quieter, cleaner and better aviation. Quality over low cost. Quality has a fair price and we have outlined this during the ongoing conversations with every partner involved.”
Six-million passengers flew to, from or via Schiphol in July 2023, making it the busiest month of the year so far, an increase of 16% compared to July 2022 and a twofold increase compared to 2021 (+98%). Most passengers flew to Spain, the United Kingdom, Greece, Italy and the United States. The number of flights to and from Schiphol was 40,965. That is also an increase compared to 2022 (+14%) and 2021 (+41%). There were 206,198 air traffic movements at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. A 9% increase compared to the first half year of 2022 (189,506 air traffic movements) yet still 15% below 2019 pre-COVID-19 air traffic movements (242,107). Cargo volumes at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol decreased by 6% to 0.7 million tonnes.
