A Dutch appeals court said that the Netherlands transport ministry can move ahead with its plan to reduce flight operations at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport from 500,000 to 460,000, reversing a lower court's ruling.
The July 7 decision by the Amsterdam Court of Appeal notes that the justices gave "considerable weight to the interests of local residents."
The transport ministry says its plan for the flight curb will address noise nuisance and reduce emissions. The cut to 460,000 flights is to be in effect from November 2023 through October 2024. The ministry is also pursuing a longer-term plan to limit annual operations at Schiphol to 440,000 beginning in 2024-25.
In an April ruling, a district court had blocked the 2023-24 plan, stating that the Netherlands federal government had not undertaken the process that is required prior to implementing a stricter cap on flights. Among other steps, that process requires identifying other potential solutions and testing them to see if they are effective.
Several airlines, as well as airline trade group IATA, sued to block the tighter Schiphol flight cap, arguing that the reduction violates national, European and international legislation and that the Dutch government hadn't considered alternative solutions.
The appeals court concluded that as a temporary measure, the transport ministry can curb flights in order to keep Schiphol in compliance with noise regulations, even without going through the ordinary process.
The ministry has begun working its way through that process for longer-term Schiphol flight reductions that would begin late next year.