Environmental organization Greenpeace wants a ban on flights with private jets at Schiphol and Rotterdam-The Hague airports. Private aircraft are relatively more polluting than regular passenger aircraft, because there are few seats and are mainly used for short flights. Flying private jets is popular: research by Greenpeace shows that more flights have been flown up to October than in 2019.
Greenpeace commissioned research agency CE Delft to map out who the major users of private jets at Schiphol and Rotterdam are, which routes are flown the most and how much CO2 emissions all those flights cause. According to Greenpeace, a more sustainable alternative is available for a large part of those flights: the train.
Especially companies, the Dutch government and ‘rich individuals’ are mentioned by the environmental organization as frequent users for business trips and holidays with private planes. In the first nine months of 2022, 16,147 private jets flew to or from Schiphol or Rotterdam-The Hague Airport.
Of these private flights, one in three is used for distances of less than 500 kilometers. According to the research, CO2 emissions are equivalent to the annual emissions of nearly 40,000 cars.
Nikkie Plessen and John de Mol
Five private planes and their owners stood out to the research agency the most: the government aircraft PH-GOV (pictured below), the Cessna Citation CJ3 by fashion designer Nikkie Plessen, the Falcon 7X by John de Mol, the Falcon 900EX by Max Verstappen and the Falcon 8X by Shell. The planes of Plessen, De Mol and the government flew a lot to and from Schiphol, the other two mainly from Rotterdam.
The article continues below the photo.
GroenLinks and the Party for the Animals in the House of Representatives, like Greenpeace, want private jet use to be tackled. The Christian Union and Groenlinks called on Prime Minister Rutte to more often look for an alternative to the government aircraft, but the chance that the cabinet and the king will leave the Boeing 737 BBJ more often from now on seems unlikely.
‘Jet set’
Nikkie Plessen’s plane, which is counted as part of the ‘jet set’ by Greenpeace, was widely used for flights to ski resorts in Austria, but CE Delft also shows that there were regular flights to England, France and Ibiza. Plessen informs NH Nieuws that in most cases she was not on board, but that her aircraft is often rented by others.
KLM Business Class
The research also focuses on KLM’s business class. Travelers who fly in business class seats are also responsible for a larger part of a flight’s emissions. Greenpeace believes that KLM should replace its business class seats with economy class seats, so that more people can board and the number of flights can be reduced.
KLM has announced that it does not intend to replace the seats and says it will reduce emissions in another way, for example by investing in sustainable fuel and purchasing more efficient aircraft.
Private flights don’t have to shrink
Schiphol must shrink from the end of next year: from a maximum of 500,000 to 440,000 flights per year. The private jet flights, which fall under ‘General Aviation’, have so far not been added to this. This means that the number of private flights can continue to grow after next year, without this affecting Schiphol’s mandatory contraction. Greenpeace wants private flights to be no longer exempted.
European ban
Greenpeace calls on Minister Harbers of Infrastructure and Water Management to argue for a European ban on private flights at a meeting of European transport ministers today and tomorrow in Prague. His spokesperson informs NH Nieuws that Harbers will not do that. Minister Harbers also flies to Prague with a scheduled flight.