The composition of the Schiphol Social Council (MRS), which advises the minister on the future of the airport, is under fire. Critics believe that there are too many opponents of aviation, and want to get a voice.
A tight chamber majority now also wants the composition of the council to change. A motion by PVV MP Willem Boutkan was recently adopted, in which he asked to also allow ‘local residents working in aviation’ to the MRS.
At the moment there are only residents’ representatives on the council who are critical of aviation and argue for substantial contraction. And that may now change.
In this video we explain what it’s all about:
“I am also an interested party, I also work at Schiphol,” says Dick who lives with his wife Gerda in Aalsmeer. “And yes, we also have a lot of nuisance from Schiphol, but we still say: let Schiphol stay.” They are also not in favor of contraction, but they do think that all interests should be weighed properly.
His wife Gerda adds: “We also want to go on holiday, we also benefit from the airport,” she explains.
What does the MRS do?
The MRS is an important advisory partner for the minister about the development of Schiphol and the impact on the living environment. The Council was established to better represent the interests of local residents, social organizations and other stakeholders around Schiphol.
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Whether people with a job at Schiphol will actually enter the advisory board is not yet clear. The Schiphol Social Council is certainly not happy with this political interference. According to chairman Khadija Arib, the aviation sector has lobby in through politics.
And Arib is not the only one. “I was really stunned,” responds Mirella Visser from Uithoorn, who is in the MRS as a residents representative. “If aviation wants to sit at our table, we also want to be at the table with them when they consult with the ministry,” says Visser.
She believes that the aviation sector is sufficiently represented in the MRS, and that the motion was therefore not necessary. “Because there are already employees from the sector affiliated with our residents’ organization. They too want to be able to sleep and live quietly,” says Visser.
According to Visser, her residents’ club Platform Uithoorn Schiphol (Push) also includes pilots and stewardesses who also suffer from planes above the village.
During a residents’ meeting of Push at the end of March, attendees responded fiercely to the proposal to admit pro-air sailors. “They don’t belong in the Social Council,”, someone shouts irritated from the room.
Together at the table
Previously, the parties did sit at the table, namely in the Schiphol Environment Council (ORS). In that independent consultative body there were representatives of the government, provinces and municipalities, of local residents, environmental organizations and also of the aviation sector.
But those parties constantly flew in the hair. It was therefore decided to split the consultation. The aviation sector now has separate consultation with the minister, including the municipalities and provinces.
Entrepreneur Casper Jansen thinks it is a good thing that advocates of aviation can also be admitted to the Advisory Board. According to him, too often it is unjustly thought that Schiphol local residents are in favor of a aviation shrinkage.
His taxi company from Aalsmeer depends on Schiphol for eighty percent. “We just have to earn it together.”
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As far as he is concerned, it is very simple: “We cannot put everything aside to achieve certain goals, without looking at the economic interests. I also live here in the neighborhood, I know the noise nuisance well.”
“If Schiphol were to shrink, it would have a direct influence on my company. My employees would have the chance to lose their job. You also come a bit about the livelihood of those people if you don’t have those interests represented.”