Dutch court in Haarlem blocks flight cutback plan for Schiphol airport
The Dutch government cannot introduce a cap to lower flight numbers at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport later this year, a local court has ruled. This blocks one of the most high-profile attempts yet, anywhere, to reduce the aviation industry’s environmental impact. A Haarlem court ruled that the Dutch government could not cut flight numbers by 8% to 460,000 per year, as it had not gone through the correct procedures when it introduced the rules as temporary measures. The court ruled that “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 airline industry had brought the case against the government, claiming (despite growth plans) that it was working hard to reduce aircraft noise levels and CO2 emissions. KLM, easyJet, Tui and Delta were also involved in bringing the case, which was based on the local impact of flying, including noise and NO2, and could have become a test case. Dutch public policy contrasts with the UK, where the government has said airport capacity growth is consistent with its so called “net zero” 2050 targets.
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Dutch court blocks flight cutback at Schiphol airport
Closely watched court ruling against the government is a boost for the airline industry
By Philip Georgiadis, Transport Correspondent (FT)
5.4.2023
The Dutch government cannot introduce a cap to lower flight numbers at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport later this year, a local court ruled on Wednesday, blocking one of the most high-profile attempts yet to reduce the aviation industry’s environmental impact.
A Haarlem court ruled that the government could not cut flight numbers by 8 per cent to 460,000 per year because it had not gone through the correct procedures when it introduced 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 in a statement.
The ruling is a boost for the airline industry, which brought the case against the government and pointed to its longstanding efforts to reduce aircraft noise levels and carbon emissions, including through the introduction of newer aircraft.
“With our measures we see a better alternative for achieving less noise and CO₂ while meeting travellers’ need to fly,” said Dutch carrier KLM.
Other carriers including easyJet, Tui and Delta were also involved in bringing the case.
Schiphol said the court decision provided clarity and pledged to “continue with everything we do to make aviation quieter and cleaner”. The Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management has been contacted for comment.
The case rested on the local impact of flying, including noise and nitrogen dioxide levels and was closely watched within the European aviation industry as one of the first efforts by the state to limit flying on environmental grounds.
The industry argues that it does not need to curtail growth in flying as it strives to hit net zero by 2050 because of new technologies, notably cleaner fuels.
But environmental campaigners have questioned the potential of the new technologies, which are unproven commercially, and on Wednesday 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,” said Johnny White, a lawyer at environmental charity Client Earth.
Schiphol, which is majority owned by the state, has stood out as an airport willing to sacrifice future growth because of environmental concerns.
The airport this week announced plans to become “quieter, cleaner and better”, and said it would consult with airlines on a ban on night flights and private jets and a reversal of plans to build an additional runway.
“We have thought about growth but too little about its impact for too long . . . I realise that our choices may have significant implications for the aviation industry, but they are necessary,” Ruud Sondag, chief executive of Royal Schiphol Group said in a statement earlier this week.
Dutch public policy contrasts with the UK, where the government has said airport capacity growth is consistent with its net zero 2050 targets.
The UK’s eight biggest airports have plans to fly almost 150mn more passengers a year, the equivalent of 300,000 extra jumbo jets, according to FT calculations.[see below]
https://www.ft.com/content/8b488f14-1a8a-47ff-9ebf-608ed997e7d9
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See earlier:
Dutch to introduce limits on the carbon emissions of international flights from its airports
The Dutch cabinet has announced that flights from Dutch airports will have their CO2 emissions capped from 2025 depending on the airport. It has not yet specified the different thresholds for each. This follows the “Aviation Memorandum 2020-2050”, a 2020 memorandum which laid down the blueprint for measures to achieve increased “sustainability” in the Dutch aviation sector. The Minister responsible for aviation said there is not yet any “global, European or national instrument that legally anchors aviation CO2 emissions in absolute terms. The CO2 cap provides this anchorage … and secures the climate goals for aviation by setting clear and enforceable limits on permitted CO2 emissions, thus creating a guarantee for meeting the climate targets … The targets are currently unenforceable; without introducing a legal cap, there is a risk that CO2 emissions from aviation will in practice turn out higher than agreed, as a result of which the goals of the Aviation Memorandum will not be met.” The cap is planned to be implemented in 2025.
Schiphol airport in Amsterdam limits flights to prevent emissions, in world first
The Dutch government has announced that the number of flights arriving at Schiphol airport will be capped to bring down carbon emissions. Schiphol, the third largest airport in Europe after Heathrow and Charles de Gaulle, will be limited to 440,000 flights a year from 2023. That is an 11% reduction from the airport’s pre-pandemic numbers in 2019 – and most importantly, it is a first in terms of putting climate before economic growth. The Dutch government, a majority stakeholder in Schiphol, says the change will bring down both noise and nitrogen oxide pollution (NOx). By limiting air traffic at one of Europe’s major airports the Dutch government is taking a major step to tackle air travel, which is one of the most polluting sectors. The aviation industry is not happy about it, and want instead to persist with the myth of being “net zero by 2050” (which is uncertain, too little, too late). A pro-aviation body ACI Europe “warned against governments caving in to ‘climate populism’.” The decision was welcomed by Greenpeace, which has been campaigning to reduce flights at Schiphol for years.
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Schiphol flights to be limited to 11% below 2019 levels to cut noise
After pressure from communities in the Netherlands, the Dutch Parliament has said Schiphol must reduce its flights from 500,000 a year to a maximum of 440,000 by 2023 in order to cut the noise experienced by impacted communities. That cut is 11% less than in 2019 (about 510,000). It is understand from the Dutch aviation campaigners that the mix in the current Dutch Parliament helped. The Netherlands has proportional representation and enough small parties backed the proposals to get it agreed. The decision follows a move by Schiphol itself, in which the Dutch state is the majority shareholder, to impose a cap on the number passengers it can carry this summer – although that was due to staffing shortages. Part of the reason is awareness fo the carbon emissions. Airlines, predictably, are not happy. Greenpeace, which had lobbied for traffic at Schiphol to be reduced, hailed the decision as a “historic breakthrough”. This might be the first time a major airport has been asked to reduce flight numbers.
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and by contrast:
UK’s biggest airports between them hope for 60% increase in passengers, compared to 2019 level
The UK’s 8 biggest airports have plans to fly almost 150 million more passengers per year, in a bet that climate targets will not hold back the industry. A Financial Times analysis of their expansion projects found that combined they would be able to handle 387 mn passengers annually, a more than 60% increase on the 240mn travellers who used the airports in 2019. If Heathrow ever managed to build a 3rd runway, it would like to increase the annual passenger number from 81 million in 2019, to 142 million. If Gatwick is allowed (DCO likely in a few months) to convert is emergency runway into near full use, it could get more than 30 million more passengers per year. Manchester plans expansion of one of its terminals to handle an extra 15mn passengers annually. Edinburgh completed the work to raise its capacity to 20mn passengers in 2019. Airport executives and investors said airports were looking to push through growth plans because many in the industry believed that it would only get more difficult in the future as environmental pressures grew. The UK has no proper aviation policy, other than wildly optimistic hopes for novel low carbon fuels, and approval of “making best use” of existing infrastructure.
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