It concerns the airports Münster/Osnabrück, Weeze, Düsseldorf and Cologne, which are between twenty and forty minutes’ drive across the Dutch border. The flights go to popular destinations in Turkey, Spain and Greece.
Corendon says it is taking the step to Germany so as not to have to say ‘no’ to holidaymakers, now that many holidays are being booked again. Expanding the number of trips via Schiphol for next summer was not an option due to the chaos that has arisen in recent weeks due to staff shortages, runway maintenance, a wildcat strike and the large number of travelers. The company also sees no chance of ‘large-scale expansion’ in the short term at regional airports in the Netherlands.
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‘New channel’
Flying from German airports is therefore not a temporary step, a Corendon spokesperson tells RTL Z. “This is permanent, for us Germany is a new channel and we expect to continue flying from Germany in the future and expand. we will also continue to fly from the Netherlands and Belgium.”
Corendon’s Turkish sister company has been flying for some time from Münster/Osnabrück, Weeze, Düsseldorf and Cologne, which makes the step to these airports easier. It has been agreed that Corendon can immediately use 100,000 seats for the flying holidays for Dutch and Belgian holidaymakers.
Corendon says it took the decision to fly from Germany yesterday. However, bringing someone to Cologne is something different than to Schiphol, and many travelers have to think of something different in terms of transport when flying from a German airport. “The next step is that we try to make special parking arrangements for our customers,” the spokesperson said when asked.
Schiphol: ‘Recruiting new staff’
Schiphol Airport says it is in talks with airlines about solving the problems of recent weeks. “Schiphol is and will continue to recruit staff and we are in talks with the trade union FNV about the terms of employment. We are preparing for the summer and discussions are underway with airlines about this,” the company said in a response. Schiphol is brief about the move from Corendon to Germany: “It’s up to Corendon.”
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Certainly not good advertising for the Netherlands, says Frank Oostdam, chairman of ANVR, the association of travel organizations. “This is harmful to the image of the Netherlands in any case. We have to determine in the Netherlands: what is the position of Schiphol? And what is the role of holidaymakers in it?”
Oostdam points to the ongoing social discussion about the role of the largest airport in the Netherlands. “It is quite possible that in that social discussion, residents and politicians will start to wonder: if you can’t handle 350,000 flight movements per year, why do you want to grow to 500,000 flight movements? But when you talk about the Netherlands as a mobility country, we are really getting there at a disadvantage.”
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