The manifesto on futureproof aviation for the Netherlands lists ten points that the coalition of thirty-one parties – mostly active in aviation but with Schiphol as a notable absentee – thinks the focus should be on. The points relate to making aviation more sustainable and include quieter flights, good labor conditions, and investments in sustainable fuels. But cases are also made against raising aviation taxes and against nighttime closure.

TU Eindhoven, TU Delft, and the University of Twente signed the manifesto and are therefore part of the coalition. “By signing this manifesto, you have allowed yourself to be used by the aviation lobby,” writes initiator and TU Delft alum Boris Schellekens in a letter appended to the petition.

Naive or deliberate?

The call to the boards of the three universities to leave the aviation coalition is garnering support in the academic community. Andy van den Dobbelsteen, a full professor at TU Delft as well as a sustainability manager, writes on LinkedIn: “I have no idea who signed this on behalf of TU Delf (and whether that was naive or deliberate), or that the logos of the universities were included because they work with the aviation sector on innovative aviation (point 9 of the manifest, which you can’t really be against). However, the latter doesn’t mean they endorse the other lobbying points (and then those logos shouldn’t be there). I’m looking into the matter at TU Delft.”

Cursor already reported on the aviation coalition a short while ago, when TU/e alum Maarten Langeveld spoke up about his alma mater being a part of it. TU/e then responded by saying its membership is motivated by the knowledge on sustainability the university possesses, which the aviation sector is in dire need of. Langeveld asserted that the coalition was being abused as a lobbying tool.

Schiphol no, universities yes

Schellekens finds it remarkable that Amsterdam Airport Schiphol hasn’t signed the manifesto. “For Schiphol airport, the lack of ambition was a reason not to sign this manifesto,” he writes. “It is unacceptable that the Dutch technical universities have endorsed the joint action agenda, thus giving legitimacy to this lobby against climate measures. It should not be the case that an airport has a greater sense of ethics than a university.”