Dutch airports operator Royal Schiphol Group has insisted that demand for flights remains “strong”, despite a “temporary decline” in airline traffic during the first half of 2026 caused by the Middle East crisis.
The group, which runs Amsterdam Schiphol as well as Eindhoven and Rotterdam The Hague airports, catered for 37.3 million passengers between January and June, which was a 0.3 per cent rise on the same period of 2025. Although traffic at Schiphol dipped to 32.7 million for the half-year – down from 32.8 million in the previous year.
Pieter van Oord, CEO of Royal Schiphol Group, said: “Demand for aviation remains high, even during a period of geopolitical uncertainty. This underlines the importance of strong international connectivity for travellers, businesses and the Netherlands.”
In its half-year financial report, the group said the first half of 2026 had initially been affected by “severe” winter weather, which caused the cancellation of thousands of flights at Schiphol. This was followed by the impact of the Iran war and the doubling of jet fuel prices that “put pressure on airline networks, as well as on flight and passenger volumes to and from Schiphol”.
Royal Schiphol Group added that its decision to give airlines a temporary 10 per cent discount on its charges in April had helped air traffic to recover in the second quarter, although it had cost the company €37 million in lost revenue.
Robert Carsouw, the group’s CFO, said: “To keep Dutch aviation strong, we continue to keep the right balance between affordability and connectivity. That is why we introduced a temporary discount on airport charges for airlines in response to the sharp rise in kerosene prices.”
Schiphol catered for 223,597 flights in the first half of 2026, which was a 4 per cent drop on the same period of 2025. But the group added that the average number of passengers per flight from the airport had increased year-on-year.
“This development confirms the expectation that passenger numbers will continue to grow, even with the same number of flight movements,” added the group in its report. “Airlines are renewing their fleets and using larger and quieter aircraft. Schiphol expects passenger numbers to increase to at least 90 million passengers per year by 2050.”
The Dutch government plans to continue with its target of capping Schiphol’s operations at 478,000 flights per year to reduce noise pollution, despite the country’s Supreme Court throwing out the policy in March as being legally “unsound”. The government is now drawing up new regulations to address the issues highlighted in the court’s verdict.
Despite this year’s disruptions to its operations, Royal Schiphol Group’s revenue rose by 5.6 per cent year-on-year to €1.33 billion, while its net profit was up by 3 per cent to €207 million for the half-year.
The group added that it had invested €801 million on improvements at Schiphol this year, as part of its long-term €10 billion renovation programme running from 2025 to 2035. Projects in 2026 have included work to complete the much-delayed Pier A (currently due to open in 2027), the addition of more electricity capacity, and “catching up on overdue maintenance”.