Home carrier KLM has hit out at a hike in fees at Amsterdam Schiphol airport, increases it says will make it inevitable that ticket prices will rise.

Airport operator Royal Schiphol Group today outlined plans to increase airport fees by 37% over three years. That includes a 41% jump in charges next year, followed by a planned rise of 5% in 2026 and a proposed cut of 7.5% in 2027 – though the fees for the latter two years remain subject to change.

Royal Schiphol says the increase in charges is driven by exceptionally high inflation and sharply increased interest rates over the past three years, as well as including compensation for the losses made during the pandemic. Schiphol says it contributed €100 million ($108 million) to mitigate the amount charges need to rise by and notes it needs to invest €6 billion over the next five years on improvements at the airport.

The charging structure also includes higher fees for older, noisier aircraft, as well as night flights, as part of ongoing efforts to counter noise levels at the airport. That has previously seen the Dutch government try to implement a cap in flights from Schiphol, the process for which was successfully challenged by airlines.

Royal Schiphol chief financial officer Robert Carsouw says: ”This sharp increase in charges is necessary to invest in the desired quality and sustainability at Schiphol, to improve services to airlines and passengers, and to provide decent working conditions for all people working at Schiphol.”

While KLM backs the move to differentiate charges to incentivise the use of more efficient aircraft, it says the increase makes Schiphol “significantly more expensive” than its European peers.

KLM chief executive Marjan Rintel says: ”Schiphol shifts additional costs of setbacks and budget overruns largely to the traveller.  More expensive tickets are inevitable if you increase airport charges so drastically.

”This is unreasonable and unwise. Unreasonable, because Schiphol is placing the costs of all setbacks and Covid-19 entirely on the airlines. Unwise, because in doing so, the airport undermines its competitive position as an international hub. This poses risks for the hub function, the connectivity of the Netherlands, and our economy.”