EasyJet is to proceed with an official complaint against Dutch airport operator Schiphol Amsterdam for increasing passenger charges. The budget airlines will file the complaint to Dutch competition authority NMa. An easyJet statement said: "Schiphol is discriminating by charging passengers that depart from the Netherlands twice as much as transfer passengers.”
EasyJet claims that Schiphol has violated Dutch laws with discriminatory charges that are unrelated to costs, making it Europe’s most expensive airport.
However, a Schiphol spokesperson said their charging system had been approved by the NMa, and therefore any complaints should be directed to them. They also insisted increases in charges were mostly down to inflation. Schiphol is to increase passenger charges to €30.93 by November for non-transfer passengers, an increase of 36% to €30.93. Similarly, charges for transfer passengers are to increase to €15.43 at an increase of 40%.
EasyJet, a low-cost airline based at Luton Airport and specialising in cheap flights, has confirmed that if the NMa do not investigate the complain, then they will take their case to the European Commission.
