Published on 04.04.2023
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Amsterdam Airport Schiphol announced on Tuesday an upcoming ban on night flights and private jets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and noise pollution.
Planes will be banned from taking off between midnight and 6 a.m. and will not be allowed to land before 5 a.m., the airport’s chief executive said in a statement. These changes to one of Europe’s biggest air hubs are set to come into effect from 2025-2026.
“The only way forward is to get quieter and cleaner, faster,” Royal Schiphol Group CEO Ruud Sondag said in a statement. “For too long we have thought only of growth and too little of the price to pay,” he added.
Banning night flights will bring “peace to the surrounding area”, Schiphol said, following years of noise complaints. This means 10,000 fewer flights per year, the airport said.
Private jets will be banned because they cause “a disproportionate amount of noise pollution and CO2 emissions per passenger”. Flights in private jets represent around 20 times more CO2 emissions than a regular flight, according to the airport.
In November, Dutch police arrested hundreds of climate activists who had invited themselves onto the tarmac at Schiphol before cycling there and sitting in front of private jets to prevent them from taking off.
The Netherlands said in June 2022 it would reduce flights at Schiphol to 440,000 a year by 2024, from a pre-Covid level of 500,000, to limit noise pollution and emissions. Major airlines including KLM, Delta and EasyJet announced in March that they were taking legal action once morest the Dutch government to protest the move.
ats, afp
