Schiphol Awaits Commission Verdict On Flight Cap Plans

PARIS—Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport and the airlines that serve it, particularly KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, are still awaiting clarity on government plans to reduce airport noise for local residents by imposing a flight cap at the airport.

The Dutch government initially set out plans to cap flights at 460,000 movements per year at Schiphol, which sparked a backlash from airlines and a lengthy legal battle that eventually led to a ruling that the government would have to follow the EU’s balanced approach procedure for reducing airport noise.

As part of that, the Dutch government on Dec. 6, 2024, finally set out a new proposal to cap flights at 478,000 movements per year, a move that KLM called “incomprehensible” at the time.

The European Commission (EC) now must give its verdict on that proposal and has three months from the date of the notification by the Dutch government to do so. Taking into account the Christmas holidays, that equates to around mid-March.

“The Commission is reviewing the balanced approach process carried out by the Dutch authorities to determine whether the measures chosen to mitigate noise are the most cost-effective and proportionate ones to reach the noise objective,” an EC spokesperson said Jan. 15.

“The Commission will communicate on the outcome of the review,” the spokesperson said.

At a Jan. 14 Air France-KLM new year press conference in Paris, KLM CEO Marjan Rintel once again urged authorities to ensure competitiveness versus other countries was maintained.

“Flying brings us prosperity and therefore we need a global and European approach. If our government continues to impose new taxes and adds new extra measures on top of the European policies, we are building up problems for the future,” Rintel said.

Meanwhile, growth is continuing at the Amsterdam airport. Schiphol operator Royal Schiphol Group said Jan. 7 that in 2024, 66.8 million travelers flew to, from or via Schiphol. That is an 8% increase compared to 2023. Most people traveled to the UK, Spain, Italy, the U.S. and Turkey. The number of flights to and from Schiphol was 473,814 in calendar year 2024. That is an increase of 7% compared to 2023.

According to OAG data, Schiphol was Europe’s fourth-busiest airport in 2024 with 40 million departure seats, an 8% increase in capacity compared to 2023, and coming in behind London Heathrow, Istanbul and Paris Charles de Gaulle. It was ranked fifth in 2023 and 2019.

For the first quarter (Q1) of 2025, Schiphol’s capacity is 9,335,654 departure seats, up from 9,097,677 in Q1 2024.

Frequencies will also rise from 52,906 to 53,110 departure flights, the OAG data shows, and the airport is connected nonstop to 233 destinations in Q1 2025, compared with 237 at this time a year ago.

KLM’s plans to invest €7 billion ($7.2 billion) in quieter aircraft and a broader “Cleaner, Quieter, More Efficient” plan to reduce environmental impact “show that a smaller Schiphol is not necessary to achieve the noise targets,” the Dutch flag carrier said. “Limiting the number of flights also carries a significant risk of retaliatory measures from other countries, which will not only affect aviation but also other Dutch companies.”

Airport noise and environmental impact for local residents is increasingly under scrutiny across Europe, as the broader aviation sector grapples with the steps that will be needed to meet decarbonization goals.

In France, several airports have been under scrutiny for their noise impact, with plans being examined for ways to reduce noise.

And on Jan. 14, Dublin Airport said it had breached its passenger cap of 32 million passengers in 2024, with 33.3 million, 4% higher than in 2023. Late in 2024, Dublin Airport operator daa asked for permission to lift the passenger cap to 36 million a year, a figure it said it could achieve without any construction works at the airport. It also has a request in place for a more significant rise to 40 million passengers, which would involve construction projects.