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Appeals court judges in Amsterdam ruled on July 7 that the Dutch government can order Schiphol Airport, one of Europe‘s busiest aviation hubs, to reduce the number of flights from 500,000 per year to 460,000. The Amsterdam Court of Appeal overturned a lower court that concluded in April the government of the Netherlands did not follow the correct procedure when it told Schiphol last year to cut flights. The airport, civil aviation organisations and airlines that included Dutch flag carrier KLM challenged the government’s order. This decision can be appealed to the Dutch Supreme Court.
The Amsterdam appeals court said in a statement that it “attaches considerable weight to the interests of local residents” in the densely populated region where people have complained for years about noise pollution from the airport.
Reserving a time slot means that travellers can go through the security check at a time of their choice. That way, they know exactly what time they are expected at the security check. The facility is now available for flights to all the destinations from Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport. This service only applies to the security check.
In a written response, Schiphol said it accepted the ruling and hopes for a new aviation traffic order from Dutch authorities “as soon as possible with clear and enforceable environmental limits that provide clarity and perspective for all parties involved.” The airport said that “the most important thing for us is that Schiphol becomes quieter, cleaner and better.”
Schiphol already is attempting to reduce noise. Earlier this year, the airport announced plans to phase out all flights between midnight and 5 am, to ban private jets and the noisiest planes, and to abandon a project for an additional runway.
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