Flights at Schiphol airport can be reduced to 460,000 per year, a court has ruled.

NOS reports that the verdict in an appeal has found in favour of the Dutch government, which wants to reduce the number of flights.

Currently, the airport is servicing 500,000 flights a year, and the state wants to reduce this to 440,000 over time in order to control noise nuisance for nearby residents.

However, airlines protested against the order to reduce flights, saying that the government should have followed a complex consultation procedure, and winning a case in the lower court in April.

However, on appeal, a court has ruled that this procedure was unnecessary as the airport has repeatedly infringed noise norms in recent years without government action. The court found that 500,000 flight movements a year were effectively illegal and although the government did not enforce noise limits, this did not make them legal.

The airlines have said they will now appeal the case for a Supreme Court verdict.

Although not part of this court case, observers not that flight reductions would also have an impact on decreasing Dutch pollution, including the controversial area of nitrogen-based emissions.