Description
The Netherlands is the largest export country of cut flowers in the world. In 2017 was 1.7 million tons of cut flowers to and from Schiphol. Air cargo transport of flowersamounts to 25 per cent of the total annual tonnage of goods that go through Schiphol Airport to Europe and the rest of the World. However, forecasts point to a less rosy picture for the Schiphol airport and Netherlands. This is due to the uncertainty of the future development in international trade and to endogenous factors that are specific to the flower and pharma sectors, as well as the increasing competition from other hub airports in Europe and the new developments in the maritime transport sector.
To maintain and improve the international competitive position of Schiphol airport as a 'preferred hub' for flowers and pharma, it is important to keep up with developments in the international markets, changes in the international value chain of flowers and to strengthen the competitive position of Schiphol in relation to competing airports (Brussels, Frankfurt, Liège and Paris).
In this paper, we develop a conceptual framework that assesses the competitiveness of Schiphol airport compared to European competitor, based on a cost model that takes into consideration transport and logistics costs, as well as other variables like quality of services and local and business environment. The results show that Schiphol can maintain it competitive advantage due to following competitive indicators: trade costs, hub position in international air-networks, quality of handling goods, and the existence of high-quality airport infrastructure and unique business environment, which attract international business.
However, results of the analysis of trade in flowers, show that the Liège airport has become a direct competitor of Schiphol in this sector, as this airport scores better than Schiphol for trade in flowers above 1,000 kg. however, Liège airport scores equally to Schiphol in terms of monetary, transport costs and quality of services. Other similar results for the case of pharma are also presented in this paper. In this last case, the first competitor of Schiphol is more diverse, with Brussels airport and Frankfurt as the main two competitors of Schiphol in Europe.
| Period | 20 May 2019 → 24 May 2019 |
|---|---|
| Event title | 2019 INTERNATIONAL FORUM ON SHIPPING, PORTS AND AIRPORTS (IFSPA) : Beyound Breakthrough, above excellence |
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | HONG KONG, ChinaShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | International |