The number of flights to and from Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport will be cut by around 25% next June when The Hague hosts the annual Nato summit.

Some 8,500 people are expected to come to the Netherlands for the summit on June 24 and 25, most of whom will travel via Schiphol via private jet.

An airport authority spokesman has told news agency ANP that flights will be scrapped between June 21 and June 27 to make sure that the delegation members arrive and depart “smoothly”.

He could not say how many flights would be scrapped but said the impact on passengers would be minimal.

Slot coordinator Hugo Thomassen, told the Telegraaf that flights are being cut because only one runway will be in use. “This is the result of closing airspace above The Hague,” he said. “Air traffic will be led around it.”

The situation has been made worse by the closure of the Buitenveldertbaan runway from May to September due to major maintenance work.

Schiphol said it had briefed airlines now about the impact so they can adjust their summer schedules accordingly.

Earlier it emerged that 27,000 police officers would be on duty in The Hague during the summit, making it the “biggest security operation in Dutch police history”.

The delegates include 45 government leaders and heads of state, 45 defence and 45 foreign ministers.

The Netherlands has some 65,000 police officers and the summit will have an impact on the availability of staff for other events, officials said last week.