The Amsterdam Court of Appeals ruled this Friday that the Dutch government can reduce the number of flights operating at the Schiphol airport, the country’s main air gateway and fourth in Europe in terms of passenger numbers (52.5 million in 2022).
Last year, the Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management, Mark Harbers, had proposed setting a maximum of 440,000 air operations at Schiphol to reduce the impact of noise pollution in urban areas near the airport.
The measure was harshly criticized by the airline industry, leading to KLM, the main operator at Schiphol, launching a legal challenge to prevent its implementation. The company had won the legal battle in the first instance, but the Dutch government appealed the result.
“We are disappointed about the ruling and are studying it. The court does not specify in concrete terms how an experimental regulation can be applied. As a result, it is currently unclear when, how and in what way the ruling will be implemented and what it means for the number of aircraft movements at Schiphol“, KLM stated in a press release.
“KLM will continue to engage with other stakeholders in seeking the best way to reduce the number of people affected by aircraft noise. To this end, we have submitted a plan for cleaner, quieter, more fuel-efficient flight operations on 15 June,” they continued.
The company emphasizes that these measures will reduce noise impact and CO2 emissions without their air operations being reduced, although this requires cooperation with government authorities, airport authorities, and air traffic control, among others.
In 2022, Amsterdam/Schiphol airport managed 397,646 aircraft movements in commercial flights (passenger and cargo), a figure 48.9% higher than the previous year. In addition, there were 24,661 general aviation flights, totaling 422,307 air operations (+47.9%), making it the third busiest airport in Europe.
Before the outbreak of the pandemic, in 2019, Schiphol handled 515,811 flights, of which 496,826 were commercial and 18,985 were general aviation.
