Air India is cancelling its flights from Delhi to Amsterdam from October 2023 due to slot constraints at the Dutch airport, which have made it impossible for the airline to schedule flights for the Winter 2023 season.
Incidentally, Air India relaunched its services from Delhi to Amsterdam in June 2023, having last served this route 26 years ago. Despite only operating for four months, it will end on October 27th. Reportedly, this is not due to poor route performance but due to Air India’s inability to secure winter slots at Amsterdam.
According to filings by Airport Coordination Netherlands (ACNL), the slot coordinator for AMS, Rotterdam The Hague Airport (RTM), and Eindhoven Airport (EIN), the total number of available slots at AMS during the summer 2023 season was 303,000. However, ACNL has noted that this number has been reduced to 189,515 for the winter season.