Minister Harbers of Infrastructure and Water Management is appealing against the judgment of the court in Haarlem, which decided last week that Schiphol may not shrink for the time being. According to the minister, the ruling is ‘not in the interest of local residents’.
That summary proceedings were brought by about twenty airlines who believe that the cabinet is depriving them of their future prospects. The court ruled in favor of the companies last week, stating that the State had not followed the correct procedures.
Last year, Harbers determined that the number of flights at Schiphol should be reduced from 500,000 flights to 440,000 flights per year from the end of this year. Nevertheless, he soon backed down: Brussels needed more time to investigate whether that decision had been well-considered. According to the European Commission, an airport may only shrink if alternative options have been investigated and it appears that the number of flights cannot be reduced in other ways.
Experiment
By limiting the shrinkage – not to a maximum of 440,000 but to a maximum of 460,000 flights – and to make an experiment out of itHarbers hoped to circumvent European legislation.
That was against the wrong leg of about dozens of airlines, which it decision led by KLM. The judge ruled in their favor and stated that the cabinet had not properly followed the procedures to reduce the number of flights to 460,000.
The government therefore disagrees and is appealing against that decision. Harbers does this because the verdict is ‘not in the interest of local residents’. “The restoration of their legal position cannot yet be achieved. For that reason, I have decided to appeal against the judgment of the preliminary relief judge,” said Harbers in a letter to the House of Representatives.
Schiphol plans
Meanwhile, Harbers is trying to make the shrinkage possible with a procedure that does meet all European requirements. Last week, Schiphol itself also presented plans to become quieter and more economical. That’s what the airport wants ban night flights and private jets, which will also be taken into account when dealing with the appeal.