THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) 鈥 Appeals court judges in Amsterdam ruled Friday that the Dutch government can order Schiphol Airport, one of Europe's busiest aviation hubs, to reduce the number of flights from 500,000 per year to 460,000.
The Amsterdam Court of Appeal overturned a lower court that the government of the Netherlands did not follow the correct procedure when it told Schiphol last year to .
The airport, civil aviation organizations and airlines that included Dutch flag carrier KLM challenged the government's order. Friday's decision can be appealed to the Dutch Supreme Court.
The Amsterdam appeals court said in a statement Friday that it 鈥渁ttaches considerable weight to the interests of local residents鈥 in the densely populated region where people have complained for years about noise pollution from the airport.
In a written response, Schiphol said it accepted the ruling and hopes for a new aviation traffic order from Dutch authorities 鈥渁s soon as possible with clear and enforceable environmental limits that provide clarity and perspective for all parties involved.鈥
The airport said that 鈥渢he most important thing for us is that Schiphol becomes quieter, cleaner and better.鈥
Schiphol already is attempting to reduce noise. Earlier this year, the airport to phase out all flights between midnight and 5 a.m., to ban private jets and the noisiest planes, and to abandon a project for an additional runway.
