Royal Schiphol Group COO Hanne Buis will leave the company, which owns and operates Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, on 1 February.
In a statement the company said a “difference of opinion” over the airport's operational management had caused the premature termination of Buis’ contract, which had been due to expire in May 2024.
“A difference of opinion has recently arisen, which the management board and supervisory board have jointly and intensively tried to bridge… Despite the joint efforts, it was not possible to bridge the differences,” the company said.
As a result, Schiphol's management now consists of CFO Robert Carsouw and interim CEO Ruud Sondag, who joined the group in late 2022 following the departure of former CEO Dick Benschop after a chaotic summer 2022 season marred with flight delays and cancellations.
Jaap Winter, chairman of the Supervisory Board of Royal Schiphol Group, thanked Buis for her “major contribution” to the aviation sector during her 18 years with the company, which included roles such as director of aviation marketing and CEO of Lelystad Airport.
Buis has been a member of Schiphol’s Management Board and COO since June 2020. Her departure marks the latest upset for the Netherlands hub airport, which imposed a cap on passenger numbers during the summer 2022 and winter 2022-23 seasons due to a lack of staff.
While the airport plans to lift the passenger cap in late March, its future growth could be impacted later this year by the Dutch government’s plan to reduce the number of flights permitted from the airport as part of a policy aimed at reducing noise and air pollution. The move to restrict flights to 440,000 per year is expected to come into effect in November 2023.