Dutch Court Upholds Ryanair Fines Over Slot Misuse Violations

A Dutch court has upheld financial penalties imposed on Ryanair for repeated slot misuse at airports in the Netherlands, rejecting the airline’s legal challenge and reinforcing the country’s strict enforcement of airport slot rules. The Hague District Court confirmed fines totaling EUR 417,500, following a marginal reduction from the original EUR 420,000 penalty issued for violations recorded in 2022.

The ruling concerns 15 separate instances in which Ryanair was found to have operated flights at times that substantially differed from its allocated airport slots. According to the court, the carrier repeatedly arrived or departed outside its assigned time windows, including a number of late landings at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport and other Dutch airports.

In its decision, dated December but published this month, the court dismissed Ryanair’s arguments challenging the legal basis of the fines. The airline had claimed that the enforcement action lacked sufficient grounding in law and that the violations were not intentional. Judges rejected this view, concluding that compliance with allocated slots is a fundamental obligation for airlines operating at congested airports and that intent is not a prerequisite for imposing penalties.

Ryanair also argued that the fines were disproportionate and constituted an abuse of regulatory power. The court disagreed, ruling that the penalties were appropriate given the number of violations and their impact on airport operations. Slot discipline, the judges noted, is essential to maintaining orderly and predictable traffic flows, particularly at capacity-constrained hubs such as Schiphol, where delays and congestion can quickly cascade across the network.

While the court largely sided with Dutch aviation authorities, it did make a minor technical adjustment to the penalty amount. A reduction of EUR 2,500 was applied, bringing the total fine to EUR 417,500. The adjustment did not alter the substance of the ruling or the court’s conclusions regarding Ryanair’s responsibility for the violations.

The case highlights ongoing tensions between low-cost carriers and regulators over slot enforcement in Europe. Airlines operating tight schedules often argue that minor deviations are unavoidable due to weather, air traffic control restrictions, or knock-on delays elsewhere in the network. Regulators, however, maintain that consistent enforcement is necessary to prevent abuse of scarce airport capacity and to ensure fair access for all operators.

Schiphol, in particular, has been under intense scrutiny as Dutch authorities seek to manage noise, environmental impacts, and congestion while balancing airline demand. Strict monitoring of slot compliance has become a central tool in that effort, with financial penalties serving as a deterrent against persistent misuse.

For Ryanair, the ruling represents a legal setback in its broader campaign against what it frequently characterizes as overregulation at major European airports. The decision also sends a clear signal to other airlines operating in the Netherlands that deviations from allocated slots, even if operationally motivated, may carry significant financial consequences if they occur repeatedly.

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Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com, ch-aviation.com