Amsterdam Jet Center has now opened, almost five months later than originally planned. Director Aad Ruijgrok said: “We intended to open in October or November but the authorities at Schipol are so strict regarding building regulations that there was a considerable delay.” Ruijgrok, who is also the owner of Rotterdam Jet Center, added: “The building here for general aviation is very old, so the authorities refused us space in it because next year they’re intending to build a new facility.

“But the problem is they’ve been saying this for ten years, so in the mean time we’ve been forced to

build a small, temporary facility next to the old building.”

The company has invested around 500,000 euros in the equipment and building, which houses a small lounge, operations room, toilets and storage space. The jet centre is located on Schipol’s east side, at the GA and technical site. Ruijgrok added: “Last year Schipol had 4,500 movements and KLM was the only handler, but now we’ve opened it gives customers more choice. KLM is principally an airline handler which does GA on the side and passengers to our Rotterdam Jet Center told us they wanted a dedicated GA handler. Since opening, business has been quite slow because everybody still has contracts with KLM. Ideally we’d now like to capture their clients, but we’re having to wait until these contracts run out. The response we’re getting from operators is very positive though.”

The company is marketing the Amsterdam facility via pilots and operations employees at its Rotterdam Jet Centre and has so far handled aircraft ranging from helicopters to Navajos, Aztecs and Citations. “We’ve encountered additional problems since opening, regarding newly-imposed slot restrictions. Since April 1 we have had to call the slot coordinator every time we handle a movement to confirm that space is available and there is also a trial restriction on times we can fly. Previously, GA has always been 24 hours but the airport is now intending to limit business aircraft

to flying between 0700 and 2225

local time, which will affect our business significantly. Between 2225 and 0700 they want almost zero GA movements, except for emergency or government movements.

“This has arisen because in the Netherlands they’re very strict about noise regulations and as a 747 brings a lot more money in than a Gulfstream, it is GA rather than commercial operations which have been affected.

“The only alternative is to fly to Rotterdam the day before, but

we’re arguing that this brings more noise and pollution through flying the extra leg,” said Ruijgrok. The company is currently lobbying against the restriction, which is due for review on November 1.

Aside from the start-up problems encountered at Schipol, the

company is continuing to do very well through its main base at Rotterdam, according to Ruijgrok.