Göteborg Landvetter’s environmental permit restricted
In a decision announced today, the Land and Environmental Court of Appeal has issued a permit to Göteborg Landvetter Airport for 90,000 aircraft movements (take-offs and landings) a year. As a result, the court has reduced the number of movements from 120,000 as stipulated in the environmental permit issued by the Land and Environmental Court in June 2015.
“This is not what we expected or hoped for. It means that the long-term scope of the airport’s development will be severely restricted and that western Sweden’s need for international access will not be met in the long run, which affects growth throughout the region,” says Charlotte Ljunggren, airport director at Göteborg Landvetter Airport.
Göteborg Landvetter Airport today has about 70,000 movements and was allowed 80,000 under its previous permit. After six years of work and a new application, the Land and Environmental Court issued the airport a permit for the 120,000 movements it had sought in June last year.
After appeals on the decision were submitted by the Västra Götaland Administrative Board, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, Swedavia AB and residents in the vicinity of the airport, the Land and Environmental Court of Appeal today issued its ruling. In addition to an adjustment in the number of aircraft movements, the Land and Environmental Court of Appeal also changed the terms under which aircraft can deviate from certain established flight paths from Göteborg Landvetter after take-off, so that this can only occur when the estimated aviation noise level on the ground is less than a maximum of 65 dB(A).
According to Swedavia’s forecast, passenger volume at the airport will increase from about 5 million to about 7.5 million between 2015 and 2025, while the number of aircraft movements will increase from about 70,000 to 90,000.
“We will now analyse the ruling in detail in order to get a clear picture of what this entails and make a sound decision based on this information as to how we will proceed on the matter,” Ms Ljunggren notes.