Some 100,000 air travellers will face cancellations or other disruption travelling to and from Schiphol airport in June because the Netherlands is hosting the annual Nato summit in The Hague, the Telegraaf has reported.

KLM, Transavia, and EasyJet operate the most flights from the airport and face the biggest challenges, particularly between June 21 and 26, when slot availability is being scaled back. The summit itself takes place on June 23 and 24.

The problem has been exacerbated because one runway is out of action for repairs, while another has been repurposed to park the private jets used by world leaders to reach the Netherlands. Airspace restrictions will also be in force.

“We are assuming a 10% loss in daily passenger numbers, or around 100,000 travellers who will need to be rebooked or whose flights will be cancelled,” Marnix Fruitema, chairman of the airline association Barin, told the Telegraaf.

Slot coordinator Hugo Thomassen said 30% fewer regular flights will be handled during the period. Some 10% will be scrapped, and the rest will be moved to other times, he said.

However, a KLM spokesman told the Telegraaf it will have to cancel 20% of its flights during the period, which will be costly.

“We are now trying to assess what flights will go. We are trying to spread the flights outside peak periods, but there is not enough capacity to absorb everything. We will let passengers know as soon as we can,” the spokesman said.

Passengers will either be refunded or offered an alternative flight.

EasyJet and Transavia are also assessing the impact of the cuts.

Private jet owners whose planes are based at Schiphol also face restrictions and will “no longer be welcome” during the summit, the Telegraaf said.

Almost six million passengers moved through Schiphol in June 2024 and there were almost 41,000 flights to and from the airport.

Knock on effects

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 in December.