KLM and other airlines using Amsterdam's Schiphol airport announced on Friday their intention to challenge in court the Dutch government's plan to cap the number of annual flights allowed at the site, claiming it would harm them, the Dutch economy and travelers.

A spokesman for KLM, the Dutch arm of the Air France-KLM group, which handles 60% of flights at Schiphol, said the companies concerned had sent a summons to the government to appear before the Haarlem District Court.

In June 2022, with Schiphol facing a labor shortage, the Dutch government said it would lower the airport's annual flight ceiling to 440,000, from the current 500,000, in order to combat noise pollution and help meet climate targets.

The government subsequently indicated recently that it might adopt an annual cap of 460,000 flights from November, as an interim step.

Airlines joining the complaint, including Delta, EasyJet, TUI and Corendon, described the decision as "unilateral and sudden".

"The airlines maintain that, in addition to breaching national, European and international legislation, the decision is unnecessary, prejudicial and insufficiently motivated, given that the airline industry is already achieving significant results in reducing CO2 emissions and lowering noise levels," they said.

A spokesman for the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure said it was considering what action to take on the complaint.

The International Air Transport Association (Iata) said in a statement that it supported the airlines' action and was also planning a separate appeal, on the grounds that the measure violated both EU law and the Chicago Convention on noise-related operating restrictions.

(Reported by Charlotte Van Campenhout, Augustin Turpin, edited by Jean-Stéphane Brosse)