Plan to build new runway at Schiphol definitively cancelled

The second Kaagbaan runway at Schiphol Airport definitely will not be built, said Infrastructure Minister Mark Harbers in an expected announcement on Monday. The runway had been under consideration for over 15 years.

Earlier this year, Schiphol already announced that it was abandoning the plan for a new take-off and landing runway next to the current Kaagbaan. The hold placed on the piece of land marked for the runway’s use will be lifted, Harbers said during a visit to Rijsenhout in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer.

Due to the reservation, which was already made in 2009, hardly any new houses could be built in Rijsenhout. That is now coming to an end.

The interim CEO of Schiphol, Ruud Sondag, announced in April that the airport no longer needs a second Kaagbaan runway. Local residents have been resisting the arrival of the new runway for years. Sondag also announced that Schiphol will limit the number of night flights, and will stop using private jets.

With these steps, Schiphol wants to reduce noise nuisance. Harbers at the time said that he welcomed Schiphol's efforts. The Cabinet wants the airport to reduce the number of flight movements from about 500,000 to ultimately 440,000 flights per year.

The Bestuurlijke Regie Schiphol, an association of 56 municipalities and four provinces, called the cancellation of the parallel Kaagbaan "a step in the right direction.” According to Alderman Jurgen Nobel of the municipality of Haarlemmermeer, the construction of new houses in Rijsenhout will now start as soon as possible.