KLM got some good and bad news this week that, in sum, show the airline and industry writ large can waste no time in making good on their commitments to reduce carbon emissions. The alternative is strict, some would even say draconian, restrictions on flights that could arrest the industry’s future. First, the bad news: Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport on Tuesday outlined plans to bar flight movements at night — no takeoffs from midnight to 6 a.m., and no landings from midnight to 5 a.m. — in order to cut emissions and reduce noise. While the plan does not appear to be final yet, Schiphol made it clear that it wants a concrete plan to reduce aviation emissions within the next two years, or by 2025-26. “We have thought about growth but too little about its impact for too long,” Royal Schiphol Group CEO Ruud Sondag said. “We need to be sustainable for our employees, the local environment, and the world. I realize that our choices may have significant implications for the aviation industry, but they are necessary. This shows we mean business.” KLM said it was “astonished” by the news from Schiphol, and that it would “revisit” the move amid ongoing discussions with the Netherlands’ Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. And, the good news: KLM, and a consortium of other carriers including Delta, won their court case challenging the Dutch government’s plan to restrict aircraft movements at Schiphol beginning this October. That plan, like the night flight ban proposed by Schiphol, also focused on reducing emissions and noise at the European mega hub by cutting annual movements to 460,000 initially from 500,000, and to 440,000 from November 2024. “With our measures we see a better alternative for achieving less noise and [carbon] while meeting travelers’ need to fly,” KLM said Wednesday, referring to the European Union’s so-called “balanced approach” to cutting aviation emissions. “The balanced approach is about the best way to reduce the number of people affected by aircraft noise.”<br/>