Extinction Rebellion and Greenpeace demand end to pollution from Schiphol Airport in the fight against climate change

Amsterdam, 5 November – Over 500 Extinction Rebellion and Greenpeace activists occupied the private jet platform at the international airport Schiphol all afternoon. They blocked parked private jets at the General Aviation Terminal on the east side of the airport and cycled across the parking area, preventing private jets from taking off.

“We are immensely proud of everyone who took part in this peaceful action today against Schiphol Airport’s immense pollution and unnecessary luxury flights by private aircraft. This protest shows that people are no longer willing to put up with the unbridled growth of the aviation industry. The pollution caused by Schiphol Airport has to stop. The first step is a substantial reduction of flight movements and a ban on short-haul flights and private flights,” says Greenpeace’s Dewi Zloch.

The activists arrived at the private jet terminal around 12:30 hours from different directions and made their way to the area where the private jets are parked. They blocked the planes by cycling around the area and sitting on the ground around the aircraft. Police officers eventually removed the activists from the area. This took some time as some of the activists had chained themselves to each other under the parked aircraft. The last activists were removed around 19.00 hours. A large group is being held in custody in parked buses.

The Dutch government has recently decided to slightly reduce the maximum number of flights from 500,000 to 440,000 flights per year, but this cap does not include private jets. Recent research by CE Delft showed that more private flights took off and landed at Schiphol in the first 9 months of 2022, than during all of 2019. “Today’s action was about making an important statement. As the climate crisis continues to spiral out of control and climate policies are affecting everyone, aviation and Schiphol Airport are profiting from exemptions and benefits. This is unacceptable. As long as Schiphol continues to pollute, we will continue taking action,” says Tessel Hofstede of Extinction Rebellion.

The protest at Schiphol Airport precedes the annual international climate summit (COP27), which is taking place in Egypt over the next two weeks. Greenpeace Netherlands and Extinction Rebellion are determined to see aviation included in international agreements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

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For more information:

Bram Karst – Greenpeace press officer
+31 (0)6 2129 6895 || bram.karst@greenpeace.org

Press desk Extinction Rebellion
+31 (0)6 4817 0971 || media@extinctionrebellion.nl​​​​​​​

Photo credits: Marten van Dijl/Greenpeace

Download hi-res photos here.

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Extinction Rebellion en Greenpeace Nederland geloven in de kracht van mensen die zich verenigen om verandering teweeg te brengen. We hebben samen een duidelijk doel voor ogen: vliegen is niet langer acceptabel.