The Week In Travel

The Dutch government has this week halted plans to cap flights at Amsterdam Schiphol in 2024. The ‘Experimental Rule’ proposed a limit of 460,000 flights (down from 500,000) and was intended to reduce noise pollution, but faced legal challenges from airlines like KLM, easyJet, TUI, and Delta. The cuts would have led to several US carriers including JetBlue were denied slots at Schiphol for summer 2024, which could have resulted in Dutch flag carrier KLM’s slots being affected at US airports. KLM expressed satisfaction with the U-turn, deeming it crucial to avoid retaliation and maintain US flights.

Staying in Europe, Frankfurt Airport has recorded its highest number of monthly flights in four years, with a 15% YoY traffic increase in October, reaching 5.7 million passengers. However, this figure remains 12% below October 2019 levels. The airport handled 40,720 inbound and outbound flights during the month, which was the highest number in a single month since October 2019, although it was still 11.4% down on the number of flights during that pre-Covid month.

In the world of technology, Joby Aviation, a leading player in the electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft sector, has conducted the first electric air taxi flight in New York City. The exhibition flight from the Downtown Heliport in Manhattan marks the eVTOL’s debut in an urban setting. The city has been identified by Joby as a launch market due to the potential of the technology in the city, which is renowned for its high traffic congestion.

In sustainability news, Munich Airport has brought forward its net-zero goal by 15 years, with the airport now setting a target of 2035. The objective involves a 90% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions (those the airport can directly influence), with the remaining 10% offset through initiatives involved energy supply, airport facilities, constructions practices and electric vehicles.

And finally, a flight from New York to Belgium had to return to the tarmac just half an hour after take off, due to an unexpected ‘neigh’-bour in the cargo hold. Passengers were stunned as the pilot announced they would have to return to New York as a horse had broken out of its stall and was loose. The incident led to a fuel dump over the Atlantic to meet the safe landing weight requirement, but luckily the plane still had enough horsepower to make it back to the airport to secure the animal.