Lelystad Airport to serve 25,000 annual flights by 2023; Site is 50km from Amsterdam Oost

Lelystad airport may accommodate some 25 thousand annual flights within four or five years after its extended runway opens in April 2019, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment confirmed to the Telegraaf.

The airport is intended to serve as an extra runway for Schiphol, taking some pressure off the Amsterdam airport by handling many holiday flights to destinations within Europe. The Ministry's intention is to initially give Lelystad 16 of Schiphol's flights, amounting to 68 daily landings and takeoffs, according to the newspaper.

Lelystad airport has a competitive location, being just under 50 kilometers from Amsterdam Oost, Amsterdam Zuidoost, Utrecht, Amersfoort and Apeldoorn. It is also located within 40 kilometers from Almere and Hilversum. 

Not everyone is happy with the plans to expand Lelystad airport. According to the Telegraaf, residents of Flevoland, Friesland, Gelderland and Overijssel are protesting against it, because they did not know they would face noise from Lelystad's approach routes when they bought a house in the area.