Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport cuts hundreds of jobs

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) - Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport announced Friday that it will cut hundreds of jobs as it warned that air traffic likely will not return to pre-coronavirus pandemic levels until 2023-25.

The busy aviation hub slumped to a net loss of 246 million euros ($293 million) in the first half of the year, compared to a profit of 133 million in the same period last year, before sweeping travel restrictions and other measures to contain the spread of the virus hammered the global travel industry.

Passenger numbers at Schiphol fell 62.1%, to 13.1 million, while cargo volumes were down 14.5% compared to the first half of 2019.

The airport said in a statement it will cut 'œseveral hundred'ť jobs from its total workforce of around 3,000 to reduce costs.

Schiphol called in its statement for better international cooperation on measures to make air travel safe in the COVID-19 era.

'œThe international response is currently insufficiently aligned and coordinated. This impacts air travel, and therefore economic recovery,'ť the airport said.

'œSchiphol is in favor of a system of testing for travel to and from countries with an orange or red risk profile,'ť the airport said. "This can reduce the need for travel bans and quarantine measures."