Environmental and noise protection: Schiphol wants to cancel night flights

Status: 4/4/2023 5:23 p.m

The Dutch airport Amsterdam Schiphol, one of the largest in Europe, wants to reduce noise and pollution. Environmentalists praise the planned ban on night flights and private jets. The airlines are critical.

Amsterdam’s major airport Schiphol has announced a change of course. By the end of 2025 at the latest, there should be no more night flights, and private jets would be banned. Schiphol wants no more flights to take off between midnight and 6 a.m. and no more machines to land until 5 a.m. According to the airport, there should be around 10,000 night flights per year.

The airport announced that this should lead to “quieter, cleaner and better aviation”. In addition, aircraft that cause a lot of noise, such as the Boeing 747, are to be gradually banned. Plans for an additional runway would be abandoned.

“We have thought about growth for far too long, but not enough about its impact. We need to be sustainable for our employees, the local environment and the world,” said Ruud Sondag, CEO of Schiphol Group. “The only way forward is to go faster, quieter and cleaner. We’ve thought about growth for far too long, but not enough about its impact.”

Praise from environmentalists, criticism from KLM

Environmental groups and local residents reacted positively to the announcement. Aviation transcends the boundaries of residents, nature and climate, said Greenpeace’s Maarten de Zeeuw. The announced ban on private jets is also a positive step. “This type of traffic is shameless in times of the climate crisis and really doesn’t work anymore.”

Airlines and tour operators, on the other hand, were critical. The airline KLM, whose base is Schiphol, reacted with surprise. KLM would have liked a joint approach by the aviation industry to reduce CO2 emissions and noise pollution, it said.

Schiphol Airport, on the outskirts of Amsterdam, has been growing for years and has become one of the busiest European hubs and a major driver of economic growth in the Netherlands.

Last summer, the Dutch government decided to cut the maximum number of flights per year in order to reduce noise and air pollution. The decision, which is expected to come into effect at the end of this year, would reduce the number of permitted flights from around 500,000 to 440,000 from 2024.

An upper limit of 460,000 flights should apply from November. On the other hand, KLM and four other airlines had sued.

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