Schiphol to be quieter, cleaner and better: night closure, ban on private jets and people first

The court has ruled that the use of the experimental rule is not intended to reduce the number of aircraft movements at Schiphol, and is not in accordance to European rules. This means that the number of aircraft movements cannot be reduced to 460,000 by the start of the winter schedule.

We would rather cooperate with the other parties than face them in court. We were unfortunately forced to file these preliminary relief proceedings to get clarity; the capacity for the coming winter will be determined at the beginning of May. With this verdict, we have clarity.

With our measures we see a better alternative for achieving less noise and CO₂ while meeting travellers’ need to fly. We will demonstrate this in the next phase of this case, the EU’s Balanced Approach procedure. This will investigate whether noise levels can be reduced around Schiphol using methods other than those envisaged by the ministry. 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.

We want to reiterate how important we believe it is to continue to strive for greater sustainability. That means less noise and fewer CO₂ emissions. This is an important part of KLM’s strategy.

Image: © Schipol Airport