THE HAGUE, NETHERLAND (AP) – A judge ruled on yesterday that the Dutch government cannot order Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, one of Europe’s busiest aviation hubs, to reduce the number of flights from 500,000 per year to 460,000, dealing a blow to efforts to cut emissions and noise pollution.
The ruling came in a summary case brought by airlines and civil aviation organisations led by Dutch carrier KLM that sought to halt the planned cuts unveiled last year. The decision by a judge in Haarlem came a day after the airport announced plans to phase out all flights between midnight and 5am, ban private jets and the noisiest planes, and abandon a project for an additional runway.
The judge ruled that the Dutch government did not follow the correct procedure when it called on Schiphol to reduce flight numbers, a decision that was hailed as a breakthrough by environmental groups.
