Aviation binds people, economies and cultures; it is also crucial for getting goods such as medicines, fresh food and electronics to the right destinations on time. However, flying also has an impact on the climate and on the environment we live in. This means that it is important to find a new balance with a living environment in which Dutch people can keep flying affordably and in which the Netherlands remains properly connected to the rest of the world.
A good balance
The Dutch aviation sector needs a perspective if it is to take steps forward and keep pace with developments worldwide. Implementing the action agenda successfully will let us achieve the following over the coming years:
- A good balance with the environment we live in
- Keeping excellent connections between the Netherlands and the rest of the world
- Keeping flying accessible for all Dutch people
- A more robust global and European policy
- Ensuring that the Netherlands is one of the leaders in the production, logistics and uptake of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF)
- Achieving our climate objectives for 2030 and being well on the way to net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050
- More international trains and excellent connections to Schiphol
- More recycling and less residual waste in the aviation sector
- Quieter Dutch aviation during the day and at night
- Getting innovations such as electric or hydrogen-powered flight onto the market more quickly
- A good, safe workplace
10 commitments ‘Toekomstbestendige luchtvaart’
These points are described in the ten commitments as stated in the pamphlet ‘Toekomstbestendige luchtvaart voor Nederland’ (Future-Proof Aviation for the Netherlands).
“If we want to keep flying in the future, the impact of aviation on the climate, the environment and our surroundings must be reduced, eventually to zero,” says Michel Peters, CEO of NLR. “It is therefore genuinely exceptional that a group of thirty or so parties, all involved in the aviation sector, are backing this pamphlet. The ten commitments thereby provide the foundation for implementing improvements, together with the Dutch authorities and in both the longer and the shorter term, leading to future-proof aviation.”
Addition by the aviation manufacturing industry
[Update, 23 January 2024] On Thursday, 18 January 2024, Lucht- en Ruimtevaart Nederland (LRN) presented its additional aims on behalf of the Dutch aviation manufacturing industry. This provided a more detailed elaboration of Commitment 9 (‘Innovative aviation’).
You can download the pamphlet ‘Toekomstbestendige luchtvaart voor Nederland’ (Future-Proof Aviation for the Netherlands) and the ten commitments here (only in Dutch). The parties listed below are involved. The document published by LRN as an addition to the ninth commitment can be found here.
