The Dutch government cannot introduce a cap on flight numbers at Schiphol airport, Amsterdam, a court has ruled, blocking an attempt to reduce the industry’s environmental impact.
A court in Haarlem said yesterday that the government could not cut flight numbers by 8 cent, to 460,000 a year, because it had not gone through the correct procedures when it brought in the rules as temporary measures.
«According to European rules, the state can only reduce the number of air transport movements at an airport after going through a careful process,» the court said.
Other carriers, including easyJet, Tui and Delta, were involved in bringing the case. Schiphol said the decision provided clarity and pledged to «continue with everything we do to make aviation quieter and cleaner».
The infrastructure and water management ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
The case rested on the local impact of flying, including noise and nitrogen dioxide levels, and was closely watched in the European sector as one of the state’s first efforts to limit flying on environmental grounds.
But campaigners have questioned the potential of the technologies, which are commercially unproven, and said the judgment was a setback.
«The aviation sector is spinning a flawed net zero narrative to cover for its pursuit of industry growth in total contradiction with climate goals,» Johnny White, a lawyer at charity Client Earth, said.
Schiphol, majority-owned by the state, has stood out as an airport willing to sacrifice growth because of environmental concerns.
This week announced plans to become «quieter, cleaner and better» and said it would consult airlines on a ban on night flights and private jets and a reversal of plans to build an additional runway.
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