Qatar Airways has commenced services between Amsterdam and Doha with the inaugural flight landing at Schiphol Airport on 16 June, welcomed with a traditional water cannon salute.

Amsterdam is the airline’s first destination in The Netherlands and its 34th in Europe and will be operated six times per week between with the B787 aircraft.

Marwan Koleilat, Qatar Airways chief commercial officer, who led a delegation to celebrate the inaugural flight and was welcomed by Maarten de Groof, chief commercial officer of the Schiphol Group, said: “Qatar Airways is proud to celebrate our much anticipated arrival into the beautiful city of Amsterdam, and we thank Schiphol for such a grand and colourful welcome.”

The grand welcome contrasts dramatically with comments made recently by Dutch Transport Minister Wilma Jaqueline Mansveld who indicated she wants to restrict the rights of the Gulf carriers, particularly Etihad, Emirates and Qatar Airways. This applies to routes between their hubs Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha to Amsterdam Schiphol.

“There is no need for the currently high number of flights of these companies and from Schiphol,” she explained its disposal to the local business newspaper Financieele Dagblad.

The European Commission is in the midst of considering complaints filed by Air France-KLM and Lufthansa, who like their US counterparts, argue the Gulf states heavily subsidise their airlines, denied by those carriers who charge US carriers were also subsidised following the 911 attacks.