Fans of Norwegian (long-haul) will be pleased to learn they the can take the carrier from Amsterdam to New York during 2020.

Dutch website Luchtvaartnieuws.nl has reported that home airline KLM must continue to provide Norwegian with the (New York) slot during next year.

The move comes at a time when Schiphol, despite its multiple runways,  is slot constrained. The airport has agreed to the Alders Agreement of 2008 (which limits the number of slots it can provide) until 2020.

KLM, Air France and Delta dominate the Amsterdam-New York route. The European Commission has insisted KLM provide a slot to a rival (in the interests of competition).

Schiphol’s single terminal was praised for years, both after it opened in 1967 and after it was extended many times in the following years.

But the single terminal is overcrowded today and a shortage of airbridges means that some flights must park away (from the terminal) as we reported last year.

A new pier is currently being built, part of a wider expansion project at the airport, which will see a new terminal being built adjoining the existing Departure and Arrival Hall 1 – this is scheduled to open in 2023 and will increase capacity by 14 million passengers.

Travellers wonder why Schiphol’s MCTs (minimum connecting times) of 40 minutes for short-haul services, and 50 minutes for long-haul have remained unchanged. But that’s another story.

norwegian.com