American airlines will go to court again if Schiphol downsizing goes through

The American aviation trade association Airlines for America (A4A) is threatening to sue the Cabinet for their reduction plans at Schiphol in order to combat noise pollution. This was stated in a letter that was sent to the Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management, Barry Madlener, which De Telegraaf had reported.

Airlines like Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, JetBlue, American Airlines and cargo transporters FedEx and UPS are all a part of A4A.

The association think that the so called “Balanced Approach” has not been done correctly during the procedure for the reduction. The Cabinet wants to reduce the number of flights at the airport to 478,000 take offs and landings a year. There is currently a maximum of 500,000 flights a year.

A4A thinks that the Cabinet did not correctly follow the European Commission’s advice for the reduction. The commission said at the beginning of the month that there are some deficiencies and that the Cabinet should take another look at the plans before implementing the measures.

One example is that the potential of new planes to reduce noise pollution was only partly taken into account. In addition, the Netherlands has done insufficient research on possibilities for noise-reducing procedures, like innovative landing and navigation techniques, said the commission.

A4A has said that the Cabinet would violate European and international treaties if they continue with the plans. In this case, a case will be filed with the Dutch court immediately, as well as a complaint with the United States Department of Transportation.

The United States threatened with retaliatory actions against KLM in November 2023 because JetBlue were in danger of losing their take off and landing rights at Schiphol. This could have led to KLM losing their rights to flights to New York.

Brussels also criticized the plans. Mark Harbers, who was minister of infrastructure at the time, then scrapped the plans for a significant reduction in flights.

KLM, the largest user of flights at Schiphol, has said that the reduction is not necessary because significant investments are being made into quieter airplanes. KLM has regularly warned of eventual punishing measures from abroad for the Dutch aviation sector.