Schiphol scraps night flights within two years, bans private jets

Schiphol wants to cancel all flights at night within two years at the latest.

This was confirmed by an airport spokesperson following reports by Het Parool and NRC. Top executive Ruud Sondag shared the intention in an interview with the newspapers. The plan aims to reduce noise pollution around the airport.

Between midnight and 05.00 in the morning, Schiphol will go on lockdown, according to Sondag. Neither air traffic nor freight traffic is allowed to use the runways then. Between 05:00 and 06:00, only planes are allowed to land. According to Sondag, this eliminates 10,000 night flights every year. To give an example: next night, 12 flights will land at Schiphol between 00.00 and 05.00.

Schiphol also wants to gradually introduce a ban on noisy aircraft such as the Boeing 747. There will also be a ban on private jets. These and other measures should fully apply by 2025 at the latest, the two newspapers report.

The decision will affect holiday flights and Schiphol as a transfer airport, among other things, according to Het Parool. For local residents, it means less nuisance. According to the airport’s calculations, 17,500 fewer people will soon be affected by ‘serious nuisance’ due to air traffic.

Dash through second ”Kaagbaan”

Furthermore, the airport will definitely abandon a second ”Kaagbaan”. This brings clarity for local residents; due to land reservations in Haarlemmermeer, hardly any new homes can be built. NRC reports that there will also be an environment fund of 10 million euros per year so that local residents can insulate their homes.

Private jets also barred

The plan is causing discontent not only in civil aviation, but also in the upper class: that of private jets. The airport wants to ban them altogether from 2025, or sooner if it succeeds.

[Source: NOS]