The number of take-offs and landings at Schiphol airport can be limited to 475,000 to 485,000 a year, well above earlier forecasts, infrastructure minister Barry Madlener said on Wednesday.

The effect of measures already in place to reduce noise nuisance for locals is greater than had been thought, which means not so many of the 500,000 flights  have to be cut, the minister told MPs.

Tougher rules will, however, come into effect for night flights, with their number reduced from 32,000 to 27,000, Madlener said. KLM has already pledged to use quieter planes at night and Schiphol is planning to increase the fees for airlines that continue to use noisy aircraft.

The European Commission will now have its say about the proposals before the cabinet takes a final decision. Madlener said the new package is a good balance between the interests of the airlines and local residents and will cut noise nuisance by 17% overall.

Airlines that do not comply with the agreements will face sanctions, he said.

The previous government wanted to cut the number of flights to 440,000 but that was rejected by Brussels. The then infrastructure minister Mark Harbers revised the figures upwards to 460,000 to 470,000 and now Madlener has increased the total again.

In June, Amsterdam city council called for a 20% cut in flights at Schiphol.

City officials want the airport to reduce the number of take-offs and landings to 400,000, close the airport at night and shut down one of its runways with a landing route directly over the city, in an effort to reduce both noise and pollution.

Amsterdam owns 20% of the airport’s shares.