Residents of Utrecht are worried about the arrival of the fourth approach road to Schiphol. Today, they have conveyed their objections to the province, in consultation with the state.

About 120 aircraft must fly to Schiphol each day via the new approach route. With this, the government wants to reduce pressure on other approach methods.

The Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management, Harbers of Infrastructure and Water Management, explained that the route is part of a larger plan to spread flying and nuisance across the country.

“In total on Earth in the Netherlands, this should lead to less inconvenience and less carbon dioxide emissions,” he said. “Shorter approach routes, keep flying high as long as possible and finally down.” According to Harpers, the plan will lead to fewer flying tours over the Netherlands and thus lower emissions.

This new flight path must pass over the provinces of Utrecht and Gelderland. For residents, perhaps that means more planes will fly over it, such as over the Leersumse Veld, a nature reserve in the southeast of Utrecht.

There are concerns that the new approach approach will generate more noise. says Peter van Theenen of stop4deroute’s working group RTV Utrecht. “Soon there may be planes flying at an altitude of two kilometers.”

The working group started a petition against the new flight path. The petition has now been signed more than 14,000 times.

Peter van Thienen fears the new track will make too much noise:

It is not certain if the planes will actually fly over the Leersumse Veld. The exact flight path is not yet known. The track will also not be operational until 2027.

However, Rep. Rob Van Muylikum is concerned. He wants to be clear about the impact this will have on the population. “If the planes kept flying high, we’d be less bothered by it. But when they’re flying low, we’ll notice,” he tells RTV Utrecht.

Two years ago, Van Moylikum had already submitted his opinion to the government on behalf of the province and a number of municipalities. He then asked The Hague to allow the aircraft to fly no less than 2.7 kilometers over the new approach route. In the first plans, the government talks about a height of about two kilometers. “But I don’t feel much has been done with that view. So I will now raise our concerns both with the working group and through the administrative process.”

Van Moylikum is not alone in his concerns. GroenLinks MP David Oude Wesselink also sees little in the way of a new approach over Utrecht. “The best solution is for Schiphol to simply shrink. Politicians sometimes talk about planes becoming more sustainable or cleaner. But this is all nonsense regarding GroenLinks. There is only one solution and that is fewer flights.”

“In Schiphol you have a city like Amsterdam,” he continues. “The sound of planes hardly exceeds that. But we are not used to it here. And then it is no longer pleasant to live here because of the noise pollution, not to mention the nitrogen emissions.”

Activist Peter van Theenen also agrees that it’s not just about noise pollution. “These planes emit a lot of carbon dioxide, nitrogen and particulate matter. We have a challenge in terms of nitrogen and climate and with this fourth path, aviation is simply given room to grow more. And that goes against all of those things.”

In the near future, the national government will consider what the new flight path will actually look like. Citizens and regional and local authorities will be able to make their voices heard in the near future. With this input, the government makes a final plan, after which the House of Representatives finally decides whether the plan will go forward.