Schiphol Airport does not want the number of flights to shrink further than 460,000 per year. The airport agrees to this for this year and next year, but after that Schiphol does not rule out new growth.
Schiphol wants to make growth possible through a new airport traffic decree, in which the government focuses on environmental impact. The airport writes this in response to plans for a reduction in aviation.
The airport traffic order will be leading in the field of noise and emissions. These environmental limits should make it clear to the aviation sector what is and what is not allowed.
But there must also be room for reward if aviation remains within the set limits, says Schiphol. This opens the door for future growth. The government must also encourage innovations that reduce nuisance and emissions.
The airport company emphasizes the connections with the rest of the world that Schiphol offers. “That is of incredible value to our prosperity and well-being.” At the same time, Schiphol says it is aware of the amount of pollution and noise that aviation produces.
The Cabinet initially announced a larger contraction of Schiphol
Last June, the cabinet announced that Schiphol had to shrink structurally to 440,000 flights per year. That was supposed to take effect at the end of this year. Later there was an intermediate step of 460,000 flights per year.
KLM expressed its concern about the plans for shrinkage and stated that the company must drop thirty destinations if the plans go ahead. That would lead to less occupation of the Transatlantic flights, which would also decrease as a result, and that would lead to a downward spiral.
If the number of flights remains above 470,000 per year, the consequences for the Dutch airline would be limited.
