AMSTERDAM, March 20 (Reuters) - A Dutch court on Wednesday ordered the government to do more to cut noise pollution from Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, potentially limiting traffic at one of Europe's busiest hubs.

In a case brought by a group of people who live close to the airport, the court said the government had not struck a fair balance between the airport's economic interests and the problems it causes for people on the ground.

The court said it could not explicitly order the government to limit flights at Schiphol, but that such a cut could be an ultimate result of its verdict.

A foundation acting on behalf of almost 200,000 people estimated to be disturbed by Schiphol noise had claimed flights at Schiphol should be capped at 400,000 a year to stay within legal boundaries for noise pollution.

The Dutch government last year tried to limit flights with the support of Schiphol to around 450,000, or 10% below 2019 levels, in an effort to limit noise pollution.

But it bowed under industry pressure and objections from the European Union, which said it should first look at other possibilities to cut noise. In December Schiphol said it would have the capacity for 483,000 flights this year.

The court said the state had structurally ignored the interests of people disturbed by Schiphol for years and had made the boundaries within which it measures noise pollution too strict.

It ordered the government to create better guarantees that the interests of people on the ground would be weighed in decisions regarding the airport, and to give those disturbed by noise a better legal position to fight it. (Reporting by Bart Meijer; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Jan Harvey)