Netherlands To Appeal Court Ruling On Schiphol Airport Capacity Cap

The Netherlands government plans to appeal a Dutch court ruling that found the government’s plan to limit flight capacity at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol to reduce noise contradicted European Union Rules.  

Infrastructure Minister Mark Harbers told Dutch MPs that the government would be appealing the ruling. “Because of the ruling, we are unable to restore the legal position of residents in the area surrounding Schiphol. Therefore, the ruling is not in the interest of the residents,” Harbers said, according to a spokesperson for the ministry of infrastructure and water management. “That’s why I have decided to appeal the verdict.”  

Earlier in April, a Netherlands court ruled the experimental regulation the government wanted to implement to limit flight capacity at Schiphol from the end of 2023 could only be established after the completion of the European Union Balanced Approach procedure. That procedure is underway. The procedure must be carried out when an EU member state wishes to implement noise-related operating restrictions on an airport with more than 50,000 aircraft movements per year. It begins with setting a noise reduction goal and then identifies measures that can help achieve the goal.  

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, which has its base at Schiphol and had teamed up with other airlines to bring the matter to court, said the court ruling had brought clarity for its winter schedule.  

“With our measures we see a better alternative for achieving less noise and CO2 while meeting travelers’ need to fly. We will demonstrate this in the next phase of this case, the EU’s Balanced Approach procedure,” the airline said April 5 after the court ruling. “The balanced approach is about the best way to reduce the number of people affected by aircraft noise. To this end, we would like to continue cooperating with government, Schiphol and any other relevant parties.” 

But at the time of the ruling airlines had warned that the court decision brought only a temporary reprieve.  

After the court ruling, IATA Director General Willie Walsh said, “The judge has understood that the Dutch government violated its obligations in shortcutting processes that would bring scrutiny to its desire to cut flight numbers at Schiphol. This decision gives vital stability for this year to the airlines using Schiphol airport and maintains the choice and connectivity passengers value. The threat of flight cuts at Schiphol remains very real and is still the stated policy of the government.” 

In parallel to the government plans to impose a capacity cut, Royal Schiphol Group, which operates the airport, has set out its own plan to become “quieter and cleaner,” involving abandoning plans to build an extra runway, banning private jets and tightening limits on night flying to reduce noise. The announcement took airlines by surprise.  

“We are astonished that Schiphol is unilaterally putting forward proposals that will have far-reaching consequences for airlines, without involving the industry parties in this process,” KLM said at the time. “Only through a collaborative, sector-wide approach can the aviation industry achieve a balance between its surroundings and the climate.”

Separately, Royal Schiphol Group said it expected an average of 66,000 passengers to depart from Schiphol each day in the May holiday, which begins April 22, with well above 70,000 on peak days. The figure is 14% higher than the 2022 May holiday. 

“Schiphol and all partners have done everything they can to ensure that travelers have a good start to their journey from the airport,” the group said. “In recent weeks and months, a lot of effort was put into recruiting new security employees and Schiphol launched an information campaign for travelers.”

In 2022, Schiphol faced severe operational problems when a shortage of staff combined with rapidly increasing post-pandemic demand led to security delays and flight disruption. The airport group has made efforts to improve working conditions as part of a drive to recruit more staff to ensure it has enough employees for summer 2023. Last year, the airport had to impose short-term capacity caps to try to limit the disruption. Schiphol began phasing those out at the end of March.