Uithoorn experienced too much flying noise last year. This is evident from a report by the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate. The inspection is already hinting at sanctions.
The noise standards have been exceeded at enforcement point 25, in Uithoorn. A total of 35 enforcement points have been installed around Schiphol to measure nuisance.
The noise limit value at that measuring point during the day is 57.44 dB, while in reality 58.20 dB was measured. According to the inspection, this is an exceedance of 19 percent.
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More noise at two points
At 2 of the other 34 enforcement points, the noise load was higher than that at the point in Uithoorn. This concerns the measuring points in Lijnden (18) and the Amstelveense Bos (20). The highest value is measured at the measuring point in the Amstelveense Bos (60.07 dB), but 61.54 dB is permitted there.
In 2022, the noise remained at all enforcement points within the standard (page 9 of 48). In 2021, the standard was exceeded by one point. In 2018, this was still the case at a handful of points.
Runway use
The violations will not be penalized by the inspectorate, as long as Schiphol adheres to rules regarding preferential runway use.
Whether this will be the case around the exceedance of measuring point 25 in 2023 remains to be seen. If it turns out that exceeding the noise standard at the measuring point could have been prevented by using runways that cause less nuisance, the Inspectorate can still penalize Schiphol. The inspectorate expects to provide more clarity in its next enforcement report.
“Shocking that the limit value is still being exceeded despite shrinkage”
Mirella Visser of residents’ organization PUSH Uithoorn is indignant about the exceedance. “It is shocking that despite shrinkage, the limit value is still being exceeded in Uithoorn,” she responded to NH. “PUSH will submit a new request for compensation to the ministry. This cannot continue like this.”
In addition to Schiphol, airlines and Air Traffic Control the Netherlands (LVNL) have also been reprimanded. LVNL has violated a rule regarding runway use and has received a warning letter for this. The pilots of nine flights also deviated from the usual routes for night flights. Their employers have also been warned.
Dirty auxiliary engines
The use of polluting auxiliary engines for parked aircraft has been closely monitored by the inspectorate for some time. Previously, the ILT urged several companies to use clean alternatives more often, but this has not happened sufficiently.
The inspectorate issued a total of twelve warnings to several airlines, but KLM and Delta Airlines are being put under greater pressure. If the next inspections show that they use too many dirty so-called APUs (Auxiliary Power Units), they will be fined. This penalty payment comes as no surprise: in October the inspectorate was already threatening to do so.