Amsterdam’s main airport wants to eliminate all night flights. The goal is to greatly reduce the loud noises plaguing the more than 17,000 residents living in the vicinity of the facility, but it is feared that limiting flights could further increase airline ticket prices and cause minor inconvenience. for transit passengers.
The decision was announced by Ruud Sondag, the new CEO of Schiphol Airport, who puts regaining the trust of locals at the top of the list, putting their needs before the needs of the airlines. Closing the building from midnight to five in the morning will result in a 54% reduction in “serious sleep disturbances” which, if continued over time, can lead to hypertension, mental and cardiovascular diseases. Blocking the take-off and landing runways will prohibit passenger flights as well as private and cargo flights. It was not specified whether the ban also covers state flights, with trauma helicopters, police helicopters and coast guard aircraft that are certain, as well as exceptions related to security or emergencies.
Stopping commercial planes only at night, which should be a total from 2025, would make it possible to cut around 10,000 flights each year and significantly reduce the 13,000 “accidents” with residents. As reported by Het Parool, offers will be introduced gradually from next November. Sondağ said, “The problems experienced in night flights are increasing every year, something needs to be done,” and that everything should be done in coordination with the airlines as it will have a “significant effect” on the system.
According to the Schiphol CEO, noise protection measures will also have positive effects on emissions reduction, “the development of a flight system that respects the limits on aircraft noise and emissions by the cabinet is expected to comply with the Paris climate agreement”. In anticipation of this, the important repercussions of the decisions taken by the airport management will affect holidaymakers who may see ticket prices increase significantly. Low-cost airlines usually focus on as many flights as possible in 24 hours, while also focusing mainly on night schedules, but if this is no longer possible, companies that have to reduce flights can compensate for the one-time price. Transavia may be the company that pays the highest price. More than half of the company’s night flights, owned by Air France, currently involve the Dutch capital’s airport.
There can be numerous disturbances associated with the large number of transatlantic flights from North America, often arriving in Schiphol in the early morning. Sondag assured that these flights would have priority for landing in order to “balance the needs of vacationers with the needs of local residents” to facilitate connections for passengers with other aircraft. According to the general manager, this way the effects on this route will be limited.
Among Sondag’s goals is to gradually ban older, and therefore noisier, aircraft from landing at Schiphol. These may include aircraft such as the Boeing 747, which have long been used almost exclusively for cargo flights to Amsterdam. Finally, a minor revolution in airport management led to the rejection of a new runway project planned for the structure, so the trend will be towards a reduction in air traffic in the heart of the Netherlands in a few years.
The example of Amsterdam follows the best practices of Vienna and Frankfurt for years involved in observing the noise produced by airports day and night, which over time led to the creation of real “neighborhood committees”. research and implementation of solutions appreciated by interested parties. From researching better take-off and landing trajectories to soundproofing buildings most exposed to the high decibels produced by aircraft, great progress has been made in this area. Implementation of Sondag’s decisions can move Schiphol to the top of the ranking of the most developed airports in the field of reducing one of the important side effects of aviation.
Source: Today IT
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
