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Reading between the lines – Rutte IV Frans Vreede Independent Aviation Lawyer frans@vreede.aero
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utte IV has been sworn in and the question now is during this Cabinet period what will the concrete policy plans be with respect to air cargo. We all still remember the Aviation Policy Memorandum 2020-2050 issued in the spring of 2020: it was nonspecific and we had to read between the lines to glean the contours of a new aviation policy. Furthermore, the Minister certainly had to exercise restraint due to the corona crisis having just broken out. The Rutte IV coalition agreement is, if this is possible, even less specific than the Aviation Policy Memorandum. Stronger still: the words ‘air cargo’ are not mentioned. Nothing about the impact corona has had on aviation, nothing about the international rediscovery of full freighters and the record number of flights, nor about many airlines investing in brand new aircraft.
Cargo Magazine
The coalition agreement does, however, say something about aviation in general, but this is then immediately followed by the measures to be applied to the sector in the context of achieving climate targets. The Cabinet notes, in general, that due to Schiphol airport, the Netherlands has excellent connections with the rest of the world. The Cabinet emphasises that Schiphol ensures, both directly and indirectly, a great deal of employment. And, also partly due to Schiphol, the Netherlands is an interesting location for internationally operating businesses. And, the Cabinet writes, we want to retain that strong hub function. But immediately thereafter to indicate that attention must be given to the negative effects of aviation which, according to the Cabinet, requires “an integral solution offering certainty and perspective for both the hub function of Schiphol and the environment around the airport”. The Cabinet will take a decision on this in 2022 and in so doing will “include the opening of Lelystad airport as well as looking at low-level flight routes”. The aviation sector can therefore count on a substantial flight ticket tax (400 million per annum target) and on aircraft fuel becom-
ing more sustainable. It will become compulsory to mix biofuel and the production of synthetic fuel will be stimulated. The Cabinet supports European plans for the introduction of a tax on kerosene. So much now for the Coalition agreement; later we will see if it is in line with the Aviation Policy Memorandum and, by reading between the lines, try to glean the future aviation policy. But first something about aircraft fuel sustainability. What the coalition agreement does not indicate is that much has happened in the EU context in this area. The magic words are ‘Sustainable Aviation Fuel’ (SAF), liquid fuel with no or significantly lower CO2 emissions than currently used kerosene. SAF is to be added to kerosene up to specified maximum levels as an additive. Essentially there are three variants of which hydrogen is seen as the aircraft fuel of the future. However, far in the future as hydrogen has three times the volume of kerosene and therefore will not fit into the fuel
