# Schiphol flights capped at 478,000 under new noise regulations

> The new Schiphol airport traffic decree (Luchthavenverkeerbesluit), published on Tuesday, caps flights at 478,000 and gives residents legal protection against noise again.

Politics · published 2026-10-27 09:38 · https://nlnow.nl/a/new-schiphol-noise-rules-take-effect-on-1-november/

The new Luchthavenverkeerbesluit (LVB) for Schiphol was published in the Staatsblad, the official law gazette, on Tuesday. It takes effect on 1 November. The government says it restores residents' legal protection, reduces noise nuisance and ends years of tolerated non-enforcement.

**Why it matters**

- Residents near Schiphol can rely on the noise rules again. Since 2015 they could not.
- Flights are capped at 478,000 until noise falls enough.
- Growth to a maximum of 500,000 flights is possible only if noise exposure falls further.

Since 2015 the rules of the old decree were not enforced, because all parties involved had agreed other ways of flying. The new rules were never laid down, so residents could not invoke them. That ends now.

The decree has 148 enforcement points instead of 35. They set how much noise is allowed each year at locations around the airport. If a limit threatens to be exceeded, Schiphol must intervene. If it is exceeded, the inspectorate ILT can enforce.

The 478,000 cap stays until the noise target is met: 20% fewer severely annoyed people around the airport. The Eerste Kamer and Tweede Kamer will be involved in the decision to activate the growth system. Of the noise gain, 50% goes to the surroundings and the other half allows more flights.

The decree also fixes which runways are used most, because they cause the least nuisance to the surroundings.

> Schiphol connects us to the world and is hugely important for the Netherlands' earning power. At the same time, aviation inevitably brings nuisance.
> — Minister Vincent Karremans

Karremans said the new decree limits that nuisance better, with a good balance between residents and the economy. The government says Schiphol supports more than 110,000 jobs, 68,000 of them at the airport, and offers over 300 direct destinations.

## Background

- **Luchthavenverkeerbesluit (LVB)**: The Dutch Airport Traffic Decree is a government decree that sets the rules for flight operations at Schiphol, including how much aircraft noise is allowed at locations around the airport each year. It also sets the enforcement points and what happens when a limit is approached or exceeded, which matters for residents living near the airport.
- **Staatsblad**: The Staatsblad is the official law gazette of the Netherlands, where laws, decrees and other binding government regulations are published. A rule only takes legal effect once it has been published there, so it is the reference point for when new Dutch legislation applies.
- **Inspectie Leefomgeving en Transport (ILT)**: The Inspectie Leefomgeving en Transport (Netherlands Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate) is the national supervisory body that checks whether rules on the living environment and transport are being followed. At Schiphol, it is the body that enforces the noise limits when they are exceeded.

From NLnow, news from the Netherlands in English. How stories are made: https://nlnow.nl/about/