As a plan from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management for military air traffic on civil airports, nature organizations fear that soon an unlimited number of military planes can use Groningen Airport Eelde.
“This is a threat to both the large number of protected nature areas and species as well as the living environment in the vicinity of the airport”, Nature and Environmental Federations of Drenthe and Groningen, the Natuurmonumenten Association, the Groninger Landschap and Stichting Het Drentse Landschap, let us know jointly. They sent their objections to the ministry.
The ministry was made available for inspection in mid -June. It contains the conditions on which military airport air traffic is permitted at other civil airports of national significance. This includes Groningen Airport Eelde.
The Drenthe airport must adhere to certain opening hours and a maximum amount of noise may be produced. But according to Director Reinder Hoekstra of Nature and Environmental Federation Drenthe, this does not apply to military air traffic.
“This makes the use of Groningen Airport Eelde virtually unlimited as possible for military aviation,” Hoekstra fears. According to him, the ministry does not explain in the scheme why Defense can make unlimited use of the commercial airports.
“We don’t know what to expect,” he continues. “It now seems as if there are almost no rules for military aviation traffic. This scheme seems to be of little control. While it is about effects on nature and the surrounding area.”
The five parties believe that the scheme cannot get there without investigations being done. For example, they fear extra noise and that could disturb the wintering and breeding birds in the Onlanden and Leekstermeer, the Zuidlaardermeer and the Fochteloërveen. The parties also want to investigate nitrogen emissions to see the influence thereof in Natura 2000 areas Drentsche Aa and Fochteloërveen.