Contrary to previous statements will Schiphol still buys out farmers in order to comply with the nitrogen rules. The airport has now approached a number of livestock farmers with an offer to transfer their nitrogen rights. Striking detail: at the end of last year, Schiphol claimed that it would not implement this measure.
The spokesman does not yet want to say which livestock farmers Schiphol has approached, and whether they are livestock farmers from North Holland. The only thing the airport wants to say about this is that nitrogen emissions must be reduced in order to meet the requirements for a nature permit. Schiphol hasn’t had one for years.
Even with the announced reduction from a maximum of 500,000 to 440,000 flights per year, Schiphol will not be able to obtain approval from the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (LNV) for a nature permit.
Doomsday scenario
Even more shrinkage in order to comply with that permit is unthinkable for Schiphol and the cabinet. According to Minister Harbers of Infrastructure and Water Management, 440,000 flights per year are still acceptable to maintain Schiphol’s extensive international accessibility. KLM, Schiphol’s largest customer, does not agree. She sketches one doomsday scenario if Schiphol is not allowed to handle at least 500,000 flights per year.
Schiphol informs NH Nieuws that it prefers to leave the buying out of farmers to the government, for example via a central nitrogen bank. “However, this tool is not available, so we do it this way”.
A year ago, Schiphol denied that farmers would be bought out. The airport already came back to this somewhat last October, when it turned out that buying out was no longer out of the question.
Tractors next to the Kaagbaan
When the NOS reported at the end of last year that advisers would have proposed to the cabinet to buy out farmers around Schiphol, this angered that group. They pulled en masse with their tractors to Rozenburg to present financial director Robert Carsouw with a purchase contract in addition to the Kaagbaan.
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That fictitious purchase contract was a playful action with which the farmers turned the tables: why wouldn’t they all buy out Schiphol together? Financial director Carsouw then announced that the airport had no intention whatsoever of offering farmers a go-away premium.