Amsterdam Counters Duty-Free Ban
A burgeoning rebellion against ending a popular travelers’ perk added a recruit last week when the Netherlands’ Schiphol Airport, Europe’s fourth biggest airline hub, said it will cover the costs of value-added taxes (except for alcohol and tobacco) to ensure that passengers can shop at duty-free prices after July 1, when a European Union ban on duty-free trade is to take effect.
The airport in Frankfurt, Germany, Europe’s No. 1 hub, has also said it will cover the difference, as did KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Europe’s fourth largest airline.
The ban had been opposed at various times by Germany, Britain and France and by retailers, who estimated it would destroy more than 100,000 jobs and wipe out an industry with annual sales of about $7 billion.
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