Council of State refuses Schiphol's request for temporary nature permit

On Thursday, the Council of State ruled that Schiphol Airport will not temporarily regain its nature permit while the airport awaits the outcome of its appeal against the ruling abolishing it. That means Schiphol remains without a nature permit for the time being and is effectively operating illegally. The airport had requested a temporary permit for fear of lawsuits, NU.nl reports.

The court scrapped Schiphol's nature permit in June, ruling that it was insufficiently substantiated. Schiphol has appealed against the ruling to the Council of State, but it could take until late next year before a final ruling is made.

In the meantime, the airport is worried about enforcement requests and potential lawsuits. Schiphol, therefore, asked the Council of State to temporarily reinstate its permit.

But during the hearing two weeks ago, Schiphol was unable to fully explain why it needed the nature permit now. A permit provides greater legal certainty, but in practice, nothing changed for the airport when its permit got scrapped. The number of flight movements remains the same. It’s only once the government decides to enforce the illegal situation that the airport will feel the consequences, and no enforcement requests have been submitted so far.

The Council of State, therefore, rejected Schiphol’s request for a temporary nature permit. The airport will operate illegally until the appeal.