KLM has criticized the Dutch government's renewed push to reduce capacity at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport (AMS), which includes proposals to limit night flights and ban certain aircraft, as “harmful and not proportionate.”
The Netherlands’ infrastructure minister Mark Harbers has outlined a revised package of measures to reduce noise pollution. These include limiting annual night flights from 32,000 to 27,000 from November 2025 and banning the loudest aircraft—such as the Boeing 747-400—from operating between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.
In a letter to parliament, the minister also said the government was undertaking a consultation over a partial night closure at the airport. That could see restrictions on arriving and departing flights between midnight and 6 a.m. from November 2026.
In a statement, KLM said it was committed to reducing the noise impact for Schiphol-area residents while maintaining international connectivity. The aviation industry’s “cleaner, quieter and more fuel-efficient” plan can meet noise reduction targets without drastically cutting flights, the airline said.
However, while the airline acknowledged that the revised government package includes elements of this plan, such as tariff differentiation and higher airport fees for noisy aircraft, it criticized measures deemed harmful and disproportionate.
“This includes the proposed blanket ban on certain aircraft types from 2025, without giving our industry time to seek suitable alternatives,” the KLM statement said. “This would have major consequences for our cargo operation, where we ordered new, quieter aircraft two years ago, which are only expected to be delivered in 2026.”
KLM added the government’s package focuses on reduction rather than a balanced strategy for noise impact, overlooking potential repercussions like countermeasures against Dutch airlines abroad, legal challenges and harm to the Netherlands’ status as a trading nation.
Sister carrier Transavia also expressed its surprise at a lack of government consultation on the latest proposals. The measures could cause “irreversible damage to Transavia 's business model and the sector,” the LCC said.
The Dutch government’s latest effort to limit flights from AMS comes after a previous attempt to cut capacity from the hub was dropped last November, driven by pressure from the U.S. government and the European Union.
The European Commission had expressed “serious concerns” to the government about not adhering to the Balanced Approach procedure for an initial phase of cuts, which were scheduled to begin in March 2024. The Balanced Approach, adopted globally via the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Assembly in 2001, includes principles such as noise reduction at the source, better land use and planning, improved noise abatement procedures and operational restrictions.
KLM has already voluntarily committed to replacing some noisy aircraft at night with quieter ones from November 2024 and to reducing the use of two secondary runways between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
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