Photo credit: JJ Jordan
by Arline L. Bronzaft, Ph.D., Board of Directors, GrowNYC, Co-founder, The Quiet Coalition, and Honorary Chair, Quiet American Skies
It appears that there are several proposals to reduce airplane flights in Amsterdam. Alexander Mitchell writes in Simple Flying that in March, a court order asked for fewer nighttime flights at Schiphol Airport. On May 24, the Dutch government indicated it would like to see fewer nighttime flights. Mitchell notes that many of these nighttime flights carry cargo, and aircraft that carry cargo are often older and louder.
Mark Harbers, Amsterdam’s minister of infrastructure and water management, recognizes that nighttime flight noise is especially harmful to one’s quality of life. I would add that years of research supports that aircraft noise is harmful to mental and physical health. The government plans to reduce operating flights from 32,000 to 27,000 by the end of 2025 and it will ban the Boing 747-400 between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.
Mitchell writes that the Dutch government already attempted to reduce Schiphol’s flights in 2019. It also placed charges on the operation of noisier aircraft at the airport and are planning for a complete nighttime closure at Schiphol as early as November 2026. The Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM) already shifted a few of its nighttime flights and there was less traffic on the roads because fewer people were heading toward the airport. With fewer people heading to the airports at night, there is less road noise pollution for those who live near airports.
Mitchell concludes the article by noting that we have to wait and see whether all nighttime flights, including cargo flights, will be eliminated in the near future. Until then, we should applaud the efforts being made to do so.
