A ruling by the Dutch Supreme Court on July 12 appears to have blocked unilateral moves to reduce the annual number of flights at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. The court refused to uphold an earlier Amsterdam Court of Appeal ruling that had supported the government’s plans to limit movements to 460,000 per year as part of noise-reduction efforts.
Essentially, the court ruling requires the Dutch government to follow European Union rules if it presses ahead with environmental limits on air traffic. Last year, in the face of legal challenges, the previous Dutch government watered down and then suspended plans for cuts in aircraft movements, including a plan to limit business aviation movements to 12,000 per year from March 2024.
Earlier in July, a new government was formed around a coalition of parties that have expressed reservations about implementing environmental policies. In a parliamentary hearing, infrastructure minister Barry Madlener made it clear that the new administration has no intention of resurrecting the policy of limiting capacity at the country's main airport.
However, according to Bastiaan de Bruijne from the EU Aviation Advisory consultancy, future legal pressure from stakeholders—including airlines and local residents—could force the government to deal with the issue once again. He also pointed out that the European Commission may yet scrutinize the issue as part of its commitment to review the previous government's policy.
"What this ruling provides is the clarity and certainty that a balanced approach is needed if the government wants to reduce the number of flights because of noise," a spokesperson for Royal Schiphol Group told AIN. "That clarity in itself is valuable for everyone. The end goal is and remains a new airport traffic decree with legal protection for local residents, perspective for the industry, and clear rules to reduce nuisance and emissions. That remains important. We want to work on that together with the government, the sector, and the environment."
Dutch flag carrier KLM supported the court’s decision. “Today, the Supreme Court ruled that any measure leading to a reduction in the number of aircraft movements at Schiphol must go through a balanced approach procedure in accordance with European legislation,” the airline said.