Slot procedures at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol have been changed to provide capacity for freighter flights.
Airport Coordination Netherlands (ACNL) has temporarily lifted the Local Rule 2 due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The local rule at Schiphol is designed to provide sufficient ad hoc capacity for freighter airlines. Under the rule, the number of slots available for re-allocation is limited, but lifting the rule will free up operations.
Bart Pouwels, head of cargo at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, said, “In these difficult times, it is important that we work together to ensure that the supply chain keeps moving. The lifting of LR2 will enable us to operate temporarily more ad hoc full-freighter flights at Schiphol, which is much needed to offset the current decline in belly capacity.”
The local rule has been suspended until June 6, 2020. Slots that have been handed back to the slot coordinator by passenger airlines are to be offered to freighters on an ad hoc basis until that date.
ACNL predicts that a lot of slots will be handed back due to the proposed temporary 80/20 waiver (airlines were required to use 80% of slots or risk losing them).