Schiphol Airport seeks night closure, ban on private jets

Schiphol Airport has presented a series of decisions aimed at delivering 'quieter, cleaner and better aviation'.

Schiphol wants no aircraft to take off between 00:00 and 06:00 and none to land between 00:00 and 05:00, there will be no second Kaagbaan Runway, and private jets and the noisiest aircraft will no longer be welcome. This will lead to a reduction in the number of people experiencing noise nuisance.

"Schiphol connects the Netherlands with the rest of the world," said Ruud Sondag, CEO Royal Schiphol Group. "We want to keep doing that, but we must do it better. The only way forward is to become quieter and cleaner more rapidly. We have thought about growth but too little about its impact for too long. We need to be sustainable for our employees, the local environment and the world.

"I realise that our choices may have significant implications for the aviation industry, but they are necessary. This shows we mean business. It is the only way, based on concrete measures, to regain the trust of employees, passengers, neighbours, politics and society."

New rules with clear limits for noise and CO2 emissions

Schiphol wants a system that focuses on the structural reduction of noise and CO2 emissions in line with the Paris climate agreement, and not on the number of air transport movements, no later than 2025-2026. This system will provide certainty that noise and emissions will be structurally reduced, and it will also stimulate innovation in the aviation sector. The government should enshrine this system in law.

Less noise nuisance and lower emissions

Schiphol wants night-time closure for a quieter environment. Aircraft will no longer take off between 00:00 and 06:00, and there will be no more landings between 00:00 and 05:00. This means 10,000 fewer night flights each year.

"We also want to limit the reallocation of flights to the very start or very end of the night/early morning as much as possible."

In order to reduce noise nuisance, Schiphol wants to take a stricter approach regarding noisier aircraft by gradually tightening existing standards for aircraft that are allowed to take off from and land at Schiphol.

Private Jet ban

Furthermore, Schiphol wants a ban on private jets and small business aviation, which causes a disproportionate amount of noise nuisance and CO2 emissions per passenger (around 20 times more CO2 compared to a commercial flight). About 30% to 50% of these private jet flights are to holiday destinations like Ibiza, Cannes and Innsbruck. Sufficient scheduled services are available to the most popular destinations flown to by private jets. Capacity for social traffic like police and ambulance flights will remain unchanged.

These three measures will apply no later than 2025-2026. According to current models, the number of people around Schiphol experiencing severe nuisance will fall by approximately 17,500 (16%) and the number of local residents experiencing severe sleep disturbance will fall by approximately 13,000 (54%).

No additional runway

Schiphol is abandoning plans for an additional runway - the parallel Kaagbaan Runway - and is asking the government to revoke the reservation. Land for this runway has been reserved at Rozenburg, Rijsenhout and Schiphol-Rijk. This reservation puts unnecessary pressure on the already scare space in the area. For the area to the south-east of Schiphol, which may have benefitted from the construction of an additional runway when it comes to noise nuisance, efforts are underway to implement the Minder Hinder (Less Nuisance) programme.

Together with the central government, Schiphol is setting up an environmental fund for the local area. Between now and 2030, Schiphol will be making a total of €70 million (€10 million per year) available so that investments can be made in innovative construction concepts, home insulation and area development for an improved living environment.

BlueSky Business Aviation News | 6th April March 2023 | Issue #696