Lufthansa Cargo (LH, Frankfurt International) has been prohibited from operating direct Aguadilla - Amsterdam Schiphol, Puerto Rico revenue flights by the Administrative Court of The Hague. The ruling effectively upholds a Dutch Directorate General of Civil Aviation decision to restrict LH Cargo's rights to Aguadilla Airport as "technical" i.e. limited to fuelling stops with no rights of passage or carriage. The German carrier had operated the sector as part of its Quito International - Amsterdam Schiphol route and argued that traffic from Aguadilla, as part of the United States, was party to the US-European Union Open Skies agreement signed in 2007. According to Cargo Forwarder, LH Cargo Spokesman Michael Goentgens notes that his airline is allowed to load and unload shipments at Aguadilla Airport, thus being accorded all commercial rights by the airport and the local authorities. As a consequence of these practices, argues LH Cargo, a new traffic dispensation has been granted and which is legally safeguarded through the operation of flights from Puerto Rico to Amsterdam under a different and independent flight number. This interpretation however, has now been rejected by the Dutch court and declared illegal. Dutch analysts have decried the ruling claiming it be a protectionist move aimed at favouring local carriers KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KL, Amsterdam Schiphol) and Martinair (Netherlands) (MP, Amsterdam Schiphol). LH Cargo says it will appeal the ruling and that for the time being, the Quito / Aguadilla flights will be routed through to Frankfurt International with onward placement to Amsterdam to be done by truck.