MPs want fewer night flights at Schiphol

A majority in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, want the number of night flights at Schiphol to be reduced. Some parties even want night flights to be scrapped completely. The Kamer will discuss aviation with Minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen of Infrastructure and Water Management on Thursday, RTL Nieuws reports.

Last week the Council for Living Environment and Infrastructure advised that the number of night flights at the airport should be limited. According to the Council, the noise is not good for local residents' night's rest, and therefore not good for their health.

"Very good advice", GroenLinks MP Suzanne Kroger said to RTL. According to her, the best thing would be no more night flights. ChristenUnie MP Eppo Bruins called fewer night flights "a wise goal".

Government party D66 is in favor of ending night flights at Schiphol completely. "Other major airports such as Frankfurt, Heathrow and Charles de Gaulle also perform hardly any night flights", parliamentarian Jan Paternotte said. He pointed out that most nigh flights are cargo flights and cheap holiday flights. Banning night flights will therefore not affect KLM much, he said.

Other government party VVD thinks it too early to start talking about Schiphol. "First we have to be clear about the opening of Lelystad Airport", MP Remco Dijkstra said to the broadcaster "Scrapping night flights is an option, but you need to take a broader view, because it leads to more crowds during the day.

The SP thinks a gradual abolition of night flights is a good idea. "But in the long run it seems like a good idea to ban night flights", parliamentarian Cem Lacin said.