The Dutch government is appealing against a court decision preventing it from cutting flights at Amsterdam Schiphol to reduce noise pollution.
In a letter to the Dutch National Assembly (Tweede Kamer), Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management Mark Harders said: "The ruling is not in the interest of the people living near Schiphol. It is not yet possible to restore their legal position. For that reason, I have decided to appeal against the judgment of the preliminary relief judge".
On April 5, the Court of North Holland ruled that the government had not followed the correct procedure when it decided to cut flights at Schipol from 500,000 annually to 440,000 for the 2023/2024 season. This came after the government's decision was challenged by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the Air Transport Association of America, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, KLM Cityhopper, Transavia Airlines, Martinair (Netherlands), and Delta Air Lines, who were joined by TUI fly (Netherlands), Corendon Dutch Airlines, easyJet, Lufthansa, Air Canada, British Airways, Vueling Airlines, United Airlines, JetBlue Airways, and FedEx Express.
In terms of the correct, balanced approach based on EU Regulation 598/2014 on noise-related operating restrictions at airports, the government must ask all stakeholders for their opinion and explore other measures of noise reduction. Harders said the government had started these procedures, but they could only be completed by 2026.
