Dutch court rejects plan to cap Schiphol flights in 2023-2024

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -A Dutch court on Wednesday overruled a government plan to cap flights at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport at 460,000 in 2023-2024, in a victory for KLM and other airlines that had brought the case.

The government announced the cap in February, calling it a temporary solution to cut noise pollution and to tackle other environmental issues.

The airlines took the government to court last month over the plans, saying the cuts would hurt them, the Dutch economy and travellers, and that alternative workable solutions had not been considered.

They also said the government plans to cap flights from November 2023 to October 2024 at 460,000 had not been properly vetted and that they had already made investments on the basis of a 500,000 cap agreed in 2015.

The Noord Holland District Court, in a preliminary decision, said the government had "not followed the correct procedure" in deciding to impose the limit.

"The state must consult with all interested parties and a reduction in the number of flight movements is only allowed when it is clear that other measures to reduce noise nuisance are not sufficient."

In a joint statement, Greenpeace, the Dutch arm of Friends of the Earth and two other environmental groups said they were disappointed by the ruling, and fewer flights are needed for residents and to combat local pollution and global warming.

"This ruling may lead to delay, but the shrinking of Schiphol is coming," they said

KLM said in response it was satisfied with the decision and it believed that noise and other kinds of pollution could be reduced in other ways.

The Transport Ministry, which is investigating a more stringent cap on flights for the 2024-2025 season, said it was studying the ruling and considering "possible follow-up actions".

In a statement, it said its policy is to seek a balance between the concerns of residents and environmental groups with "the economic importance of Schiphol for the Netherlands".

(Reporting by Bart Meijer and Toby Sterling; editing by Jane Merriman and Jason Neely)