Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is now legally capped at 478,000 flight movements a year. The new Airport Traffic Decree (Luchthavenverkeerbesluit, or LVB) took effect on 1 November 2026, also limiting night flights to 27,000 a year. It ends a tolerance arrangement under which the old rules went unenforced since 2015.

The cap is about noise. Residents nearby have campaigned for years about aircraft noise, and the government says the decree finally gives Schiphol a clear legal basis after more than a decade of debate and court rulings. It was published in the Staatsblad, the official gazette, on 27 October 2026.

What does the 478,000 cap actually mean?

A flight movement is one take-off or one landing, so the cap covers every arrival and departure. It is below the roughly 500,000 flights a year Schiphol handled before the coronavirus pandemic, including about 32,000 at night. The decree expands noise enforcement from 35 points around the airport to 148, and targets a 20 percent cut in daytime noise nuisance and 15 percent at night. The Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate enforces the rules, although it cannot yet impose an administrative fine when a limit is exceeded, and the minister has promised an amendment to the Aviation Act to allow that.

Can Schiphol grow back to 500,000 flights?

Only if noise keeps falling. The government says the cap applies until Schiphol reaches its target of 20 percent fewer seriously annoyed residents, and growth to 500,000 movements is allowed only if the noise burden decreases further. Half of any further reduction is to benefit the surrounding area and half to create room for more flights, with both chambers of parliament involved in the decision. KLM and Transavia will feel the limit most, as they operate most flights at Schiphol, and environmental groups including Greenpeace Nederland, Milieudefensie and SchipholWatch are challenging the decree before the Council of State.

Frequently asked questions

Will my flight be cancelled because of the cap? No. Current schedules are not affected; the cap constrains future growth rather than cancelling flights.

Does the cap ban night flights? No. It limits night movements, between 11pm and 7am, to 27,000 a year.

Why was a new decree needed? On 11 March 2026 the Council of State annulled an earlier version of the cap, finding the government had not adequately justified it. The new decree is the replacement.