A ban on night flights at Schiphol puts more pressure on the already full day times at the beginning and end of the day. ‘And they’re already full. If Schiphol is locked down at night, the Netherlands will be locked down.’ KLM CEO Marjan Rintel emphasized it once again on Friday during a press breakfast, where she looked back on 2023 and looked ahead to the coming year together with Maarten Stienen (COO & Operational Director). Rintel pointed out the importance of night flights for, among other things, cargo transport, including medicines and fresh goods such as flowers, vegetables and fruit. A ban on night flights also limits the ability of airlines to cope with disruptions in operations and also leads to higher ticket prices. According to Rintel, there was a lot of uncertainty last year, including about the downsizing plan for Schiphol to a possible maximum of 452,500 take-offs and landings. In addition, the Schiphol management previously announced that it wanted to ban night flights and private jets within two years, which the government does not want much of for the time being. In short, nothing is certain in the aviation dossier. Rintel therefore made an appeal: ‘Let’s look at how we can solve this from a shared vision.’ Hence the ten points for future-proof aviation, which 31 parties from the sector presented on Thursday as input for the 2023-2027 coalition agreement of the new cabinet (in the making). Part of these ten commitments is the aim of reducing nuisance at night. Not by banning night flights, but by flying the quietest aircraft at night as much as possible and by flying with adapted procedures. This should prevent air cargo and travellers from having to divert to foreign airports. ‘Schiphol is not Frankfurt, which has two airports nearby where night flights are allowed,’ said operational director Stienen. “We can’t do it alone. It’s about doing it together,” Rintel emphasized. The proposers of the ten points include KLM, Transavia, TUI, Corendon, ANVR, trade unions, employers, and universities and universities of applied sciences. Absent from the list is Schiphol itself. When asked, Rintel said that he ‘of course’ regretted that Schiphol was not participating. ‘Ultimately, we want the same thing, noise reduction and less nuisance for local residents, but in a different way.’ Photo: Maarten Stienen and Marjan Rintel (Photo TravMagazine).
