DALLAS — The Dutch Supreme Court has decided that cutting slots at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS) is unlawful. The decision follows two years of legal battles over the Dutch government’s attempt to reduce the number of flights out of the capital. 

The Dutch government proposed reducing the amount of noise and environmental pollution coming out of the airport. They planned to cut the number of flights per year from 500,000 to 452,500. 

Legal action came in March 2023, when the IATA and individual airlines challenged the Dutch government's decision in 2022. The plan was eventually ruled unlawful as it wasn’t in line with the European Union’s “Balanced approach” to reducing environmental impact. 

However, this decision was later appealed and overturned in the following month. This prompted airlines and the IATA to try again in legal action. AMS suspended its plans a few months after much protesting from the European Union (EU) and the U.S. 

The case was then elevated to the Dutch Supreme Court, the highest level of litigation in the Netherlands. The Supreme Court now rules that any plan to cut flights out of a Dutch airport has to go through the EU’s “Balanced approach” system to ensure that such actions are done correctly.

Comments from IATA, KLM

The Director General of the IATA, Willy Walsh, said that this judgment was only fair, given that there is “an internationally-agreed means of managing airport noise—the Balanced Approach—which protects the national and regional benefits of air connectivity while helping to mitigate noise impacts for local residents.”

He then went on to say that he expected “the new Dutch Government will respect today’s decision and proceed to apply the Balanced Approach, which is also enshrined in EU law and international treaties, with the utmost care regarding Schiphol.” 

KLM, the Netherlands’ flag carrier, commented on the situation to Air Cargo News, who first broke the news of the court's decision, claiming that the airline had drawn up its own plan to ensure sustainability within its airline and would ensure that this did not impact any travel plans in the future. 

This decision may end a long, drawn-out battle between the government and a group of airlines. It is monumental to outline how governments must tread more carefully when approaching sustainability in their airports. 

While this attempt may have ended, it's clear that airlines and airports will continue to work to ensure that sustainability goals are met and that they have a greener impact on the world.

The decision comes as the city of Amsterdam fights to see fewer tourists, according to the city's Deputy Mayor Sofyan Mbarki. “It’s about behaving, decreasing visitor numbers and bringing a balance back in our city,” Mbarki told Skift.