With the adoption of this preferential decision, the new division of the airspace is globally established.
Less noise pollution on the ground, fewer emissions of harmful substances such as CO2 and nitrogen, and shorter and more sustainable flight paths that use less fuel. These are the main goals of the Airspace Revision Preference Decision that the government has taken.
Dutch airspace has become increasingly crowded in recent decades. Above our small country there is not only a lot of civil aviation, but space is also needed for military flights. To prepare aviation for the future, the layout of the airspace must be reconsidered.
By changing the flight paths for Schiphol, aircraft are given the space to descend later, whereby pilots have to accelerate less and brake less. This means less noise and emissions of harmful substances above residential and nature areas around Schiphol.
One way those routes are changing is by dismantling the military training area that now exists in the southeast of the Netherlands and increasing the training area in the north. In this way, aircraft from the south no longer have to fly around the exercise area, so that they can fly in a more direct route to Schiphol and other airports.
The military training area above the north of the country is being expanded. As a result, the new F-35 can also practice better there. The number of military training flights will not increase in the future. With the adoption of this preferential decision, the new division of the airspace is globally established.
In the coming years, up to 2025, this division of airspace will be further elaborated. We do this together with provinces, municipalities, the aviation sector and residents' and nature organisations. It must therefore become clear in the coming years what effect the reclassification of the airspace per region will have. The actual implementation will start from 2025, with the reclassification being introduced step by step.
