Maastricht Aachen Airport wants to get rid of the older Boeing 747 and MD-11, as they disturb local residents.
According to flugrevue, it is the vibrations during take-off and the noise that are most annoying to residents. During a series of meetings with neighbors and surveys conducted in the area, it was identified that older cargo planes are the cause of most complaints: often heavily loaded, they have a flat climb slope during the first stage of the flight, gaining altitude very slowly and causing the most noise and vibrations. Residents complained particularly about the Boeing 747-200, -400, and -800, but also mentioned the much more modern Boeing 777.
Having heard this, the terminal no longer wants to wait until the natural fleet renewal makes the old wide-body aircraft disappear. Maastricht Aachen Airport wants to accelerate their disposal using various instruments, so from April 1 next year, the original Boeing 747 (-100 and -200) and the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 will no longer be able to operate from the station. For their part, Boeing 747-400s will pay taxes at rates «at least» 100 percent higher than current. Finally, in 2030, they will be banned altogether.
This measure is not unprecedented: Israel recently passed a similar ban. For environmental reasons, four-engine aircraft will no longer be allowed to land in the country as of March 31, 2023.
According to airport director Jos Roeven, the facility will have to forgo revenue from at least two flights a week as a result of the 747-200 ban. «This is an important part of our revenue. However, we support these measures. We want to be an environmentally conscious airport, and the environment is more important to us than economics,» he said.
