Balanced Approach
Reducing the noise nuisance for local residents near Schiphol which could lead to cutting the number of flights requires a carefully considered process. A lower number of flights has numerous effects for the airline companies, for Schiphol and for air traffic control, as well as for businesses, local residents and passengers.
It is important that all these effects are included in the assessment and that the decision about the measures is taken with due care. That is why the Dutch Cabinet is following the appropriate European rules, i.e. the Balanced Approach procedure. The Netherlands is the first country to go through the procedure on such a scale.
Have a look at the animation to see all the steps in the procedure.
Bovenaan het openingsscherm van de video staat prominent in beeld het logo van het ministerie van Infrastructuur en Waterstaat. Daaronder staat de tekst:
Op weg naar minder geluidsoverlast voor omwonenden van Schiphol; de balanced approach procedure.
Vervolgens begint de video met een voice-over.
The government wants to find a better balance between the interests of a good international airport and the interests of a healthy, pleasant living environment.
To achieve this, the Cabinet is following three tracks:
- Restoring the legal position of local residents
- Reducing noise nuisance by, among other things, committing to fewer flights per year
- New rules for noise and emissions in the future.
We are prioritising tackling noise nuisance for local residents, track 2.
We have to follow European rules for measures that reduce noise nuisance and can lead to fewer flights.
That procedure is called a Balanced Approach.
The Netherlands is the first country in Europe to go through the procedure on this large scale. We have set a noise objective to significantly reduce noise nuisance during the day..
…And during the night.
And have identified various measures to achieve the noise objective.
We have examined whether the measures reduce noise nuisance sufficiently and the possible consequences.
We also looked in detail at achieving a good balance between the benefits of the measures and their costs.
This led to several packages of measures.
Three packages of measures were submitted to residents, nature and environmental organisations, interest groups, member states, airlines, Schiphol and air traffic control authorities.
This was done through discussions, digital sessions and the internet consultation.
This allowed everyone to express their views and contribute their thoughts.
All the responses were then examined and processed into a final package of measures.
In accordance with the procedure, we notified the European Commission, European member states and other national and international parties about the final package of measures on 1 September.
The European Commission will issue a recommendation after no more than six months.
The measures of the final package, including the new number of flights, will eventually be formalised through laws and regulations.
After which, the measures can be fully implemente
Op het eindscherm verschijnt opnieuw het logo van het ministerie van Infrastructuur en Waterstaat prominent in beeld. Daaronder staat de tekst: Kijk voor het maatregelenpakket op Luchtvaartindetoekomst.nl.
Part of that procedure is a consultation phase, in which everyone can comment on the proposed plans. The Ministry received numerous responses from local residents, environmental organisations, other authority bodies, airlines and Schiphol itself.
The package of measures
The Ministry has carefully assessed and weighed up all the responses and comments. That resulted in a definitive package of measures. As of November 2024, this will result in a significant step being taken to reduce the noise nuisance in the area surrounding Schiphol.
The measures are:
- A lower number of flights – a maximum of 452,500 flights per year
- Less use of the take-off and landing runways close to densely populated areas
- Fewer night flights – a maximum of 28,700 flights per year
- Quieter flights at night (between 23:00 and 07:00).
The input from the consultation did also provide measures that could yield significant noise reduction. However, these measures cannot be taken within the procedure (partial closure of Schiphol at night). Or these measures would take too long and can therefore not lead to less noise nuisance in 2024 (purchasing quieter aircraft).
To reduce the noise nuisance further, Schiphol’s plan for a partial closure at night is being examined. The ministry is identifying the consequences of this in a so called impact analysis. The cabinet can then decide what follow-up steps to take.
The next steps
The measures were submitted to the European Commission for recommendations on 1 September 2023. They must give advice about putting the measures into practice. After receiving this advice, the cabinet can make a decision.
Documents
On 1 September 2023, the measures were submitted to the European Commission by means of a so-called 'notification document'.
Please click here for the notification document and related documents.
Documents that were provided during the consultation period can be found here. It is no longer possible to submit a response, as the consultation period ended on 15 June 2023.