No noise standards for Leeuwarden airbase, Defense says after years of F-35 complaints

The Ministry of Defense will not implement maximum noise standards for Leeuwarden Airbase, the Ministry told Pointer. Since the Dutch Armed Forces upgraded their fighter jets from F-16s to F-35s, the noise levels around the airbase regularly rise to dangerous levels, the program reported based on figures from the permanent noise measurement network around the base.

The F-35 jets have been flying from Leeuwarden since 2019 and make much more noise than their predecessors, the F-16s. According to Pointer, a landing F-35 makes as much noise as 20 F-16 jets together. Friesland residents have experienced much more noise pollution, despite the fact that the existing noise standards around the air bases were a pre-condition for the purchase of the F-35s.

The public health institute RIVM considers noise above 110 decibels as unhealthy. People exposed to noise levels above 115 decibels are at risk of permanent hearing damage.

Between 2020 and 2023, the permanent noise network around the airbase - with 16 measuring points right next to the base and in the surrounding villages - measured noise peaks of between 110 and 115 decibels 3,182 times. Nose peaks above 115 decibels were registered 579 times in that period.

The number of peaks between 110 and 115 decibels doubled from 2020 to 2021 and increased another 88 percent from 2021 to 2022. The number of peaks dropped to 532 in 2023, but the airbase was also closed for seven months last year. In the first quarter of 2024, the noise network measured 110 decibels or higher 175 times - several times a day, on average.

Last year, an audit committee, together with local residents, doctors, and an audiologist, asked State Secretary Christophe van der Maat to limit the noise, mentioning 110 decibels as the target and 115 decibels as the absolute maximum.

Defense will not agree to that request and will not impose noise limits, the Ministry told Pointer. “Due to safety on the ground and in the air, standardization of the maximum aircraft noise is not possible. Pilots must have the space to make the necessary noise at any time to guarantee this safety.”The Ministry said it would investigate whether it could limit the noise level of the F-35 jets during take-off and landing as much as possible.

In December, the government said it wanted to fly the fighter jets more over the Netherlands, mentioning Leeuwarden as a location. The Ministry will make a decision about this in the autumn.

Last month, the court reprimanded the Dutch State for ignoring locals’ interests when making decisions about Schiphol Airport. The case was filed by locals against the noise levels around the Amsterdam airport.