A Dutch court on Wednesday overruled a government plan to cap flights at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport at 460,000 in 2023-2024, in a victory for KLM and other airlines that had brought the case.

The government announced the cap in February, calling it a temporary solution to cut noise pollution and to tackle other environmental issues.

The airlines took the government to court last month over the plans, saying the cuts would hurt them, the Dutch economy and travellers, and that alternative workable solutions had not been considered.

They also said the government plans to cap flights from November 2023 to October 2024 at 460,000 had not been properly vetted and that they had already made investment on the basis of a 500,000 cap agreed in 2015.

The Noord Holland District Court, in a preliminary decision, said the government had "not followed the correct procedure" in deciding to impose the limit.

"The state must consult with all interested parties and a reduction in the number of flight movements is only allowed when it is clear that other measures to reduce noise nuisance are not sufficient."

KLM said in response it was satisfied with the decision and it believed that noise and other kinds of pollution could be reduced in other ways.

The Transport Ministry, which had been investigating a more stringent cap on flights for the 2024-2025 season, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Schiphol itself announced plans this week to phase out all flights from 12 p.m. to 5 a.m. (Reporting by Bart Meijer and Toby Sterling. Editing by Jane Merriman)