Schiphol to "regulate" spotters!

As always translated from Dutch. It’s all over the media.

SCHIPHOL (ANP) – Schiphol wants to curb the increase of spotters. In co-operation with the borough of Haarlemmermeer they are ooking to “limit the number of locations spotters use”, confirmed spokesperson R. Wever.

The increased terror threat is part of the reason for this later initiative, although he stresses there is no imminent danger at Schiphol. Next to that local people are more and more disturbed by the spotters. Traffic safety is also named as a factor.

Since two years spotters and tourists alike flock to the airport whenever there is good weather. They also enter places they are not supposed to enter. The main cause for this is the opening of the Polderbaan early 2003. There are no fascilities for spotters are this runway. Due to the construction of the A5 motorway, a few months prior to the Polderbaan, spotters are no longer able to go around the Zwanenburgbaan.

Officially Schiphol has three spotters sites. The observation platform at the terminal, the Mac Donalds alongside the Buitenveldertbaan and a parking lot at the Kaagbaan.

Outside these locations a lot of unofficial spots have been taken in use. That’s why the airport is trying to regulate the spots. Schiphol did say they will want to satisfy the interest in spotting. He denies that the illegal locations, he counts roughly 12, will disappear. A workgroup is looking into the spots, to see if more official spots can be opened. When this will happen remains unclear.

Schiphol is visited by several 100 of spotters. Next to that there are tourists when there is good weather. Someone could be in that crowd that wants to cause harm. In november 2002 an Israeli airliner taking of from the Kenyan city of Mombasa was fired at with rockets, that fortunately missed their target.

“Most people don’t harm anyone, but they park their cars haphazzardly, on the roadside for instance. This causes dangerous situations.

The exact intentions of Schiphol remain unclear at the moment. I can speculate on places that would close, but will not do so.

The annoyance to local people is, in my humble opinion, negligable. Most runways are far away enough from housing estates that they do not bother people. Can think of only two housing estates that might suffer. One of them is Rozenburg. A village whose inhabitants are slowly being moved anyway due to noise considerations. Only a fraction of the tiny vilage (a few dozen houses at best) are still inhabited. The other estate that might have reason to complain has a lot of spotters-traffic on a through road with few houses on that road itself. Not much to complain about either.

Road safety is hardly compromised either because the spots tend to be far away from main roads. Only two spots I can think of that has from time to dangerous situations. The approach to the Kaagbaan (where cars may not park anyway so moot point, police should enforce the rules they have rather then make new ones) and the taxiway to the Polderbaan. This in my opinion would be a valid point to close as there are indeed some dangerous situations from time to time.

Either way, probably things will work out fine. After all, Schiphol has said they do not intend to close these locations. And considering (most of) the spots are on public property they would have a hard time doing so anyway.