The measure announced in the Netherlands for Amsterdam-Schiphol airport appeals to residents of Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle (CDG), as well as environmental protection associations. On June 24, the Dutch government set the maximum number of flights per year at Schiphol at 440,000, compared to 500,000 before the Covid-19 pandemic, in order to combat noise pollution.
In a statement, residents of CDG and NGOs, quoted by AFP, “are delighted with this responsible decision, beneficial for the overflown populations of the Amsterdam region as well as for the climate”. They therefore ask for the same ceiling:
“What is possible at Amsterdam-Schiphol is also possible at Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle!”, They assure.
A positive effect on the climate
The French airport “hosted around 500,000 aircraft movements in 2019, the equivalent of Schiphol. We are asking that a political decision be taken so that traffic there is limited to 440,000 flights per year in the short term, then that either began a reduction in the number of movements in order to protect the health of Ile-de-France residents”, they specify in the press release.
This limitation would constitute “also one of the truly effective and essential measures to enable the aviation sector to reduce its CO2 emissions in order to respect the emission reduction curve set within the framework of France’s National Low Carbon Strategy”, believe the associations, including the Association for the Defense against Air Pollution (Advocnar) and the local branches of France Nature Environnement and Greenpeace.
No limitation of time slots at Roissy
Orly airport is subject to a limitation of airport slots (250,000 movements per year), but not Roissy. At the beginning of June, in its annual report, the Independent Authority responsible for controlling airport nuisances (Acnusa) had noted better compliance with environmental rules (noise and atmospheric pollution) by the major airlines in 2021. It had, however, called for a “very careful” in Roissy due to the foreseeable increase in traffic, particularly at night, after the Covid health crisis.