According to the research council, the Oostbaan landing system does not currently meet the European safety requirements for this kind of ‘wide body aircraft’, from which runways in the cockpit are more difficult to see. As a result, it now often happens that large aircraft fly too low over the landing threshold.
In January 2023 it went wrong once with the landing, When an Airbus from Delta Airlines landed in the grass eleven meters before the start of the track. A number of lamps were hit by the track lighting. The plane was slightly damaged and nobody was injured. The incident was the reason for the OVV investigation.
Only small aircraft
In July last year, the Dutch Safety Board already advised to stop landing large passenger aircraft until the necessary adjustments have been made on the runway. According to the council, no planes should currently land that are larger than a Boeing 737-300, a type of aircraft that is only used for European flights.
Schiphol did not take both measures a year later. However, the Council concludes that there are concrete plans to make certain adjustments. The expectation is that those adjustments will be sufficient to meet the safety requirements. But the OVV also says that until that time there are still risks of the current use of the runway.