Less nuisance as a result of a curfew and banning the noisiest aircraft and private jets

Closing Schiphol for a large part of the night, banning the noisiest aircraft and private jets, and an environmental fund are effective measures to reduce noise nuisance caused by air traffic. Schiphol demonstrates this in their Balanced Approach response that has been presented to the Minister of Infrastructure & Water Management. The airport's input includes four elements of Schiphol's eight-point plan that was published in April. 

Ruud Sondag, CEO Schiphol: "We seize every opportunity to make the aviation industry cleaner, quieter and better. The same goes for the Balanced Approach. It is high time that measures have a noticeably positive impact for our neighbours, not just on paper but also in practice. A curfew and banning the noisiest aircraft and private jets is difficult for some of the airlines, but essential for the improvement of the living environment. By summer 2024 at the latest, we need certainty and clarity on the measures so that we can implement them in the 2025 capacity declaration. Then it will be definitive, and we'll show that we mean business. This is the only way to regain the trust of employees, passengers, local residents, politicians and society." 

 Improved living environment 
The measures proposed by Schiphol contribute significantly to an improved living environment. This is evident from calculations done by Schiphol using the ECAC Doc29 model that the Ministry of I&W also uses and that is the international standard to determine the effects of measures. 

Schiphol repeats request for new rules with clear limits for noise and emissions 
The number of flights is not necessarily the determining factor for nuisance. A new system with hard environmental limits would be. Strict noise and emission limits are measurable and enforceable. Schiphol therefore wants a system – to be in place no later than 2025/2026 – that focuses on the structural reduction of noise and CO2 emissions in line with the Paris Climate Agreement and not on the number of aircraft movements. This provides certainty that noise and emissions will be structurally reduced. There is also room for remuneration within these limits. A condition is that aviation becomes quieter and cleaner, partly through proven and implemented innovations.  Schiphol believes that the government should anchor this system by law. The details of the "clear limits on CO2 emissions ", which is part of the eight-point plan, will follow after the summer. 

 Background 
On 24 June 2022, the Dutch government presented its decision on the future development of Schiphol. With this decision, the government wants to find a new balance between the importance of a strong airport to connect the Netherlands with the rest of the world and the quality of the living environment around the airport. 

The Balanced Approach procedure must be followed when an EU member state wants to introduce noise-related operating restrictions at an airport with more than 50,000 aircraft movements per year. The government's decision contains such operating restrictions, requiring the Balanced Approach procedure to be followed according to European laws and regulations (EU Regulation 598/2014). 

Schiphol's full response can be downloaded on the right-hand side of this page