The European Commission Tells The Dutch Government That It Can’t Restrict The Number of Flights at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport to Reduce Noise Pollution
- Although the decision isn't binding, the Dutch government has been asked to consider alternatives like developing new flight paths and incentives to replace older jets in order to reduce noise pollution around Amsterdam Schiphol Airport.
The European Commission has delivered a severe blow to the Dutch government’s attempt to slash the number of flights allowed to operate out of Amsterdam Schiphol Airport in a crude attempt to reduce noise pollution for local residents.
On Wednesday, the Commission informed the Hague that the current plan to cut the number of flights allowed to take off and land at Schiphol by tens of thousands was not in compliance with the so-called ‘balance approach.’
As an explainer, the ‘balanced approach’ procedure is a 2014 European law that requires countries within the bloc to identify and implement various measures to reduce noise pollution from aviation before they even consider imposing flight limitations.
For example, incentives to replace older and louder aircraft with new jets or developing innovative flight procedures to reroute planes over less populated areas must first be investigated in an attempt to cut noise pollution for residents living near airports or under existing flight paths.
Only when those measures have been tried and failed can European governments resort to imposing flight limitations.
That, however, isn’t what the Dutch government did. First proposed in 2022, the government announced plans to slash flight movements at Amsterdam Schiphol to just 440,000 per year before revising that number up to 460,000 and then 478,000 following fierce opposition from the aviation industry.
The European Commission’s decision doesn’t necessarily stop the Netherlands from going ahead and simply imposing the flight limitations, but the Commission said the government “is invited to examine the decision and inform the Commission of its intention before introducing the operating restrictions.”
Despite the non-binding decision, Dutch flag carrier KLM praised the Commission and said it was already working to renew its fleet with quieter aircraft that would reduce noise pollution for residents living close tp Schiphol.
“We expect the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management to take the European Commission’s decision to heart and follow the recommendations before implementing capacity restrictions,” the airline said in a statement.
“This way, the sector retains a future perspective while maintaining a balance with the environment, keeping the Netherlands connected to the rest of the world.”
In late 2023, the Dutch government was forced to suspend its proposed flight cap after being threatened with retaliatory action by the then-Biden administration.
The dispute arose because the flight cap would potentially result in US airline JetBlue being pushed out of Schiphol on its New York JFK to Amsterdam route. JetBlue had lobbied the Biden administration to impose countermeasures, including banning KLM from flying to New York.
Senior White House officials met with representatives from the Dutch government and managed to convince them to suspend the flight cap, thereby avoiding an international diplomatic dispute.
