"Unlikely" that Schiphol downsizing will happen in November, Minister says

It is “unlikely” that the planned reduction of flight movements at Schiphol Airport will start in November, said outgoing Minister Mark Harbers (Infrastructure). The intention was that the number of flights would drop from 500,000 to 452,500 per year in November to reduce the noise pollution for locals. But the European Commission must look further into the government’s downsizing plans. It is not yet known when the Commission will make a decision.

Harbers would have “liked to see this happen differently,” he wrote to the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of the Dutch parliament. “But it is important to follow the prescribed processes and procedures closely and take the time necessary to achieve proper completion.”

The intention was to limit the number of flights before the summer, but this was met with major resistance from the United States, among others. The plan would affect American airlines, so the U.S. threatened to also restrict landing rights for KLM at American airports.

Greenpeace, Natuur & Milieu, Milieudefensie, and the Nature and Environment Federation of Noord-Holland find it “very annoying that valuable time is once again being lost to protect local residents from sleepless nights and nuisance for Schiphol and aviation companies.” In a statement, they wrote that the aviation sector has had enough time to reduce noise pollution. “The Dutch government has no choice but to oblige the sector to shrink and to adhere to the rules that apply to noise.”

“Unbelievable,” parliamentarian Habtamu de Hoop (GroenLinks-PvdA) responded on X. He called the possible postponement a “slap in the face of locals who have been experiencing enormous noise pollution for years.”