The Dutch government wants to allow a maximum of 478,000 flight movements per year at Schiphol as of 2025. This is the outcome of calculations that the government has carried out in recent months. You can read exactly what that means here.
In September, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management (I&W) submitted a new package of measures to the European Commission as part of the Balanced Approach procedure. This procedure is necessary to reduce the number of flights at Schiphol.
In the new package of measures (which includes measures such as stricter night-time noise standards, quieter aircraft and higher airport charges for noisy and polluting aircraft), the government assumed that a reduction in the number of flight movements between 475,000 and 485,000 should be enough to reduce noise pollution by at least 17 percent.
The exact number of flights had yet to be calculated. This has since been done and the calculations have shown that to reach that 17 percent, the number of flight movements would have to be reduced to 467,000. This is less than the previously estimated range of 475,000 to 485,000 flights. The government fears that with such a number of flight movements, the European Commission would issue a negative opinion whereby the Balanced Approached procedure would fail. As a result, restoration of rights for local residents and noise reduction would be further out of the picture. According to the government, it would also be too great a burden on the aviation sector.
The government has therefore chosen to allow a maximum of 478,000 flight movements per year for now. This will achieve a 15 percent reduction in noise nuisance in the surrounding area. The government will decide from November 2026 what measures it wants to take to achieve the remaining 5 percent. If necessary, a new Balanced Approach measure will be launched. The government's ultimate objective of reducing noise nuisance for local residents by 20 percent by 2029, or earlier if possible, and restoring legal protection remains unchanged.
Schiphol wants a good balance between the local environment and the airport. Reducing noise nuisance and strengthening legal protection for local residents are therefore very important. It is in everyone's interest to legally secure this protection in a new Airport Traffic Decree. In this way, we can ensure certainty and clarity.
We are already contributing to reducing nuisance by way of the new airport charges that were recently announced. We continue to believe it is important that the government completes the Balanced Approach procedure correctly, so that the outcome can be laid down in law.