KLM President & CEO writes to Minister to prevent the Government from making a careless decision on the future of Schiphol.

Marjan Rintel, President & CEO of KLM, wrote to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management (I&W) on the apprehension of future of Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, if a careless decision is made by the Government of Netherlands.

The Dutch flag bearer KLM has called on the Government to revise its noise pollution strategy at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport. Rather than reducing the number of flights, KLM suggests encouraging the use of quieter aircraft.

KLM's letter to the minister reads,

KLM supports the government's wish to achieve a better balance between the interests of local residents and the economic importance of Schiphol and aviation. We endorse the goal of achieving a 20% reduction in noise pollution. Additionally, we believe that the legal protection of local residents must be properly addressed.  

The government is reportedly on the verge of making a significant decision that could have unnecessarily large negative consequences for the future of Schiphol, for KLM, and for the connectivity of the Netherlands with the rest of the world.

This leads to a decision-making process that is inconsistent with the essence of a correct and careful Balanced Approach, where achieving the intended policy goal—noise reduction—is central. Reduction of flight movements is not an end in itself, may not be legally sustainable, and carries the risk of retaliation.  

The Dutch government is on the verge of announcement of a new flight cap this month, that may reduce the annual limit of flights from 500,000 to around 475,000.

On this upcoimng decision, KLM, the largest carrier at Schiphol, bats for the noise reduction that could be achieved by replacing older noisy aircraft with latest models.

The letter further read,

I am writing to you because I want to prevent the government from making a careless and incomplete decision. Your ministry seems to be steering towards shrinkage, while this is not necessary to achieve the noise goal.  

KLM boss Marjan Rintel, in the open letter to Infrastructure Minister Barry Madlener, highlighted that the major noise reduction could be achieved from upgrading aircraft. In her proposal, she asked the Ministry to consider higher tariffs for older plane models to encourage the operators to acquire newer and quieter models.

In her letter to the Ministry, while specifying the road blocks towards achieving a balanced approach on the growth of Schiphol, she also blamed the calculation model used by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management (I&W), as among the outdated to forecast the current and furture needs of the largest Airport of Netherlands.

She tried to draw attention on three points, saying, these are the scenario going wrong to achieve a noise reduction goal. 

The calculation model used by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management (I&W) has been a major stumbling block for months. The sector, Schiphol, and we ourselves have continuously provided input to improve this model so that the government decision can be made properly and carefully.

She said to have pointed out the following points to the I&W ministry: 

1. Fleet renewal is barely considered The greatest contribution to reducing noise pollution comes from replacing older aircraft with new, quieter planes. As you know, KLM is investing €7 billion in fleet renewal in the coming years. In the calculations commissioned by your ministry, the new aircraft are barely considered, and the noise reduction that can be achieved with them is almost entirely ignored. Ignoring the impact of fleet renewal is contrary to the Balanced Approach. 

2. Impact of tariff differentiation is hardly considered Applying higher tariffs for older, noisier aircraft significantly contributes to encouraging airlines to use new and quieter planes. The model from Schiphol, where all available expertise and information is available, proves that tariff differentiation has a much greater impact than the ministry assumes. Although this fact is confirmed by research from external experts, this effect, which concerns at least 5,000 aircraft movements, is largely ignored in the assumptions and calculations of your ministry. 

3. An obvious calculation error is not corrected Experts from Schiphol, KLM, and the independent NLR have pointed out to the ministry that the model used in the calculation does not correspond with reality. The NLR indicates that the impact of this leads to an underestimation of noise reduction of about 1%, or around 5,000 aircraft movements. Your ministry dismisses this as "a model choice." But it is simply an (easily correctable) error, making the outcome unreliable and therefore unsustainable in the Balanced Approach.  

Marjan Rintel also raised a possibility of retaliatory measures from other countries, that includes the United States, which could affect KLM's landing rights. she said,

The Ministry of I&W also overlooks the fact that, in the event of a reduction in the number of flights, there are significant retaliation risks from the United States and other countries. This means that the impact on KLM's network is much greater than the proposed reduction, as KLM cannot choose which flights to cut when the US and other countries impose retaliatory measures.

The fact that retaliation is not a theoretical risk became apparent last year when the Ministry of I&W, under your predecessor, presented a reduction scenario that did not meet the requirements of the Balanced Approach and was subsequently taken off the table.  

Related news..... 

As per her, this decision-making process is inconsistent with the essence of a correct and careful Balanced Approach, which should lead to the balance your government is seeking according to the Coalition Agreement.  

She urged the minister once again to consider the package of measures described in the sector plan Cleaner, Quieter, More Efficient, with which we can achieve a significant reduction in noise pollution by November 1, 2025. This is possible if the identified shortcomings in the model and the assumptions of I&W are corrected.

She also promised measures in the direction of reducing noise pollution as below: 

• We will fly more with our newest and quietest aircraft at night; 
• We will continue our investments in new and quieter aircraft worth €7 billion; 
• Together with Schiphol and the sector, we support the introduction of tariff differentiation, which also significantly contributes to quieter aircraft and thus less noise pollution.  

She concluded the open letter saying,

KLM, like Schiphol and the other involved sector parties, remains ready to support you, the ministry, and the government in the search for a better balance between the interests of local residents and the indispensable pillar that aviation is for Dutch society and the millions of Dutch people who travel with us every year. 

You may like to read......