Transit passengers generate less prosperity than holidaymakers: report – DutchNews.nl

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People who start or end their plane journey via Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport bring more prosperity to the Netherlands than the transit passengers the government wants protect, the Parool said on Monday, quoting a report by the SEO economic institute.

The government wants to focus transit passenger services at Schiphol and shift holidaymakers and budget airlines to Lelystad, where the airport is being expanded to cope with commercial traffic.

But the SEO researchers say passengers who start or end their journeys at the Amsterdam airport generate €4.3bn for ‘the national prosperity’ every year, roughly nine times the €482m brought in by transit passengers.

The research was commissioned by budget airline Easyjet, which says the government must take the financial benefits of charter airlines into account when drawing up national aviation policy.

By ‘national prosperity’ the report includes everything which benefits the Netherlands and the Dutch, including choice of destinations and low cost as well as the impact on the environment.

Previous reports by SEO on aviation have focused on the economic benefits, the Parool points out. They show that the economic contribution made by low cost airlines such as Easyjet and Ryanair amounts to €1bn, whereas transfer-based airlines like KLM contribute €5.7bn to GDP.