Schiphol Airport may only continue to grow in the future if the nuisance to local residents demonstrably decreases. That is part of the designAviation Note 2020-2050 of Minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen (IenW), who was appointed in the Council of Ministers on Friday.
“From now on, there is only prospect of growth for Dutch airports if it is safe to do so, the nuisance for people in the area will decrease and the burden on the climate will demonstrably decrease,” the ministry said. The aviation bill outlines the frameworks for the development of aviation in the Netherlands for a longer period. The exact details will follow later.
In concrete terms, the draft note does state that, given the current operating system, Schiphol cannot grow further than 540,000 flight movements per year. Until this year, Schiphol may handle a maximum of 500,000 flight movements per year, but given the effects of the corona crisis on aviation, this number is nowhere near reached. “Until a few months ago, we were in a completely different situation with aviation in the Netherlands,” says Van Nieuwenhuizen.
“Now we are doing everything we can to help the sector and the many people who earn their living in the Netherlands by a very difficult period.” The minister points out that past crises have shown that aviation can recover quickly. “With the draft Aviation Note we lay the foundation for the period after this crisis.”
Airport at sea off the runway
According to the minister, the note has found a balance between the various interests. “And we give the people in the sector, the local residents and the people who fly a long-term perspective.” Safety is paramount in the further development of Schiphol and an airport at sea seems to be off the track. In any case, the Cabinet will not investigate this. One of the ways to reduce nuisance is by further limiting the number of night flights.
The Cabinet wants to focus more on Schiphol’s network function, preserving the connections that contribute to the competitive position of the Netherlands as a country of residence. Holiday flights must be moved to Lelystad. “In addition, the cabinet wants to improve international connections by rail and road, together with stakeholders, so that it becomes more attractive to take the train or bus for short distances instead of the plane.”
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