The EU Commission stated that it had taken “interim measures” regarding the temporary denial of take-off and landing rights for Jetblue Airways at Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport. However, the Netherlands gave in beforehand.

The government wants to do so under the guise of noise and environmental protection reduce the number of slots available at Schiphol Airport. This resulted in Jetblue Airways initially has not been assigned take-off and landing rights for the 2024 summer flight schedule. This really infuriated the carrier and they sought diplomatic help in the United States. At times the US authorities even held out the prospect that As a countermeasure, KLM could lose numerous slots in the USA.

There was support from the EU Commission, because it agreed with Jetblue and the US authorities that the Dutch approach would violate the aviation agreement between the USA and the EU. The Netherlands was even threatened with formal infringement proceedings. Ultimately, the government gave in because the reduction planned for this year was initially withdrawn. As a result, more slots were available again and the regulator then awarded some to Jetblue Airways.

Behind the scenes, things may have been brewing even more violently between the EU Commission and the Dutch government than previously known. The European Commission even stated that “interim measures” had been prepared. They would have been ready to intervene, because the Dutch plan would not only have violated the aforementioned aviation agreement, but would also have restricted competition. As a result, passengers on USA flights would have had to expect higher prices.

Jetblue Airways had flight connections from New York-JFK and Boston last year taken to Amsterdam-Schiphol. According to the latest annual report, these have led to total long-haul capacity increasing from 1,5 percent in 2022 to 3,1 percent in the previous year. The capacity reduction at Schiphol Airport planned by the Netherlands meant that Jetblue was initially not allocated any slots. The flights would therefore have had to be stopped at the beginning of the 2024 summer flight schedule period. But that doesn't happen because they got the slots after all, because the Dutch have put their plan on ice - at least for the time being - under pressure from the USA and the EU Commission.