The US Department of Transportation (DOT) has dismissed, without prejudice, a JetBlue Airways (B6, New York JFK) complaint against the Dutch government over its attempts to cap flight movements at Amsterdam Schiphol to reduce noise pollution.

JetBlue withdrew its complaint on June 5 after receiving slots at Schiphol for the Winter 2023/2024 scheduling season, which it understood would be eligible for "historic status", representing a partial solution for its ability to serve Amsterdam on a permanent year-round basis.

However, JetBlue stated it would not know whether it could maintain continuity of operations into the Summer 2024 scheduling season until after the statutory deadline for the Department to act on the complaint has passed. In this regard, JetBlue sought leave to withdraw its complaint without prejudice to its ability to seek future DOT intervention under the International Air Transportation Fair Competitive Practices Act (IATFCPA).

On February 14, 2023, JetBlue had filed a complaint with the DOT under IATFCPA, asserting that the Dutch government violated its obligations under the US-EU Open Skies air transport agreement by failing to ensure that JetBlue was granted all operating authorisations, including slots, at Schiphol.

As reported, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KL, Amsterdam Schiphol) had filed a motion requesting the DOT dismiss JetBlue's complaint, arguing the issue had been resolved after the Noord-Holland District Court on April 5 ruled that the Dutch government did not comply with European Union rules in proposing to reduce aircraft movements at Schiphol. The court ruled the Dutch government could not reduce flights numbers at Schiphol from 500,000 to 460,000 for the 2023-2024 winter season. But, on April 24, JetBlue opposed KLM's motion saying its complaint was not resolved because the Dutch government had filed a notice of its intent to appeal the lower Dutch court's ruling.