The Dutch Government has decided to suspend plans to limit the number of flights at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport from 2024 to reduce noise pollution, according to a note from the Ministry of Infrastructure, although it maintains its commitment to “restore the balance between the aerodrome and its surroundings”.
Last September, the Netherlands announced that it was moving forward with the decision to apply the experimental regulations to reduce the number of flights at Schiphol to a maximum of 452,500 annual operations, according to Europa Press.
However, the European country has assured that it will “continue working” to reduce the “acoustic nuisances” at Schiphol: “This remains an urgent task with which we are fully committed. Therefore, the cabinet is “determined” to continue with the call “balanced approach procedure” to be enshrined in regulations.
Among the main reasons given by the Government to suspend this plan is the international reaction, mainly from the United States and Canada, which have expressed their concern, as well as other countries.
Specifically, the American JetBlue has been one of the airlines most upset with the flight limit since, with the distribution of ‘slots’ for next summer, it was left without air capacity to fly to Amsterdam. The Dutch airline KLM also suffered a reduction in slots, among other companies.
This fact caused the airline to request the United States Department of Transportation to prohibit KLM from accessing New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport if the restrictions were finally applied.
In this sense, the North American country issued an order, which stated, among other things, that this procedure may constitute “a violation of EU regulations and the 2007 US-EU Air Transport Agreement.” “In the eyes of the United States, the capacity reduction will be unfair, discriminatory and anti-competitive for airlines,” explains the Dutch Government.
This same order, dated November 2, is the first step in the adoption of countermeasures by the United States and consists of requiring Dutch airlines to share their flight schedules in advance with the US Government.
On the other hand, the Ministry’s note points out that the Netherlands received a letter from the EU on November 13 expressing its “serious concern” that it had not followed the so-called “balanced approach procedure.”
Therefore, the EU stated that it expressly reserved the right to initiate infringement proceedings against the Netherlands in the next round of infringements, for, in its opinion, non-compliance with European regulations. “The Netherlands is urged to take all possible measures to ensure compliance with European regulations,” the letter added.
The Dutch capital’s airport has been “disappointed” by recent events, as “local residents are bearing the brunt.”
“Reducing the number of flights is not a goal in itself for us, but the experimental regulations provided clarity and security for local residents,” he explained in a statement.
Furthermore, according to Schiphol, resorting to “early application” creates “more uncertainty”, including for the aviation sector itself. “It is time that obstacles for local residents were significantly reduced,” he added.
