The US Transportation Department has welcomed the decision by the Netherlands government to ditch plans to cap flights at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport.
It was hailed as the ‘right decision’ by the US DOT’s Polly Trottenberg.
The US had made its opposition clear to the Netherlands and had hinted at retaliation.
US airline JetBlue was set to lose its new slots at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport if the flight cap went ahead.
The Dutch government confirmed it has abandoned plans to reduce flights at the airport after protests by airlines.
It had announced plans to reduce the number of flights from 500,000 to 460,000 next summer.
However, it could revisit the issue in the future.
Minister for Infrastructure and Water Mark Harbers said the initial phase of the plan has been shelved ‘until further notice.’
The planned flight cap was to help reduce noise and air pollution
US trade group Airlines for America welcomed the decision and thanked the US government for ‘issuing a very strong order outlining the violations of the US-EU Air Transport Agreement.’
