Nearly 40% of Schiphol passengers fly fewer than 750 kilometers: Greenpeace

Almost 40 percent of passengers who fly through Schiphol do not fly further than 750 kilometers, Greenpeace reports based on research by consultancy and engineering firm Royal HaskoningDHV. According to Greenpeace, 750 kilometers is in many cases a distance that can easily be traveled by train or electric bus, saving a lot of CO2 emissions during these short flights' taxiing, takeoffs and landings.

Greenpeace calls for short flights to be scrapped, or alternatives to be made more attractive. "In this way we can achieve a substantial climate benefit and much of the nuisance for the surroundings and nature will disappear", the environmental organization said, according to NOS.

The most popular short flight destination is London. On average a plane leave Schiphol for the British capital every 20 minutes, transporting nearly 2.6 million passengers from Amsterdam to London last year. 700 thousand passengers flew to Paris last year, 560 thousand to Copenhagen, 520 thousand to Manchester, and 500 thousand to Munich. 

Schiphol called the Greenpeace study old news, according to NOS. Royal HaskoningDHV also examined for which destinations the train can be a competitive alternative to flying last year. The figures are therefore not new and the flights are online, so you don't need research for that, a Schiphol spokesperson said to the broadcaster. "We prefer to focus on making aviation more sustainable."