Environmental organisation MOB (Mobilisation for the Environment) headed byJohan Vollenbroek has registered an official complaint against the decision that Eindhoven Airport and Rotterdam The Hague Airport do not need environmental permits. The government says the airports can use the permits they obtained in the past. Vollenbroek finds this unacceptable and, together with other organisations, is taking the matter to the court in Arnhem.
“Eindhoven and Rotterdam have grown steadily since the nineteen nineties. There are currently far more flights than the old permits allowed. The negative impact of air traffic on the environment has therefore increased exponentially”, Vollenbroek writes.
The harmful effects are not just due to the deposition of nitrogen, says the advocate of the environment, but also the disruption of bird life due to the sound and light emitted. “This means that both airports definitely need environment permits if they want to stay within the law”.
In June, then outgoing minister Christianne van der Wal (Nature and Nitrogen) claimed that she does define an upper limit for the nitrogen emission of air traffic. She also wrote, however, that existing rights cannot be withdrawn. Therefore, she says, an environment permit is not needed.
Source: Studio040
Translated by Greta
