Infrastructure Minister hopes to open Lelystad Airport for holiday flights in 2025
Minister Barry Madlener of Infrastructure hopes to open Lelystad Airport for holiday flights next year, he told Nieuwsuur. “A lot has been invested in it. I think it would be a shame if such an investment turns out to have been for nothing.” A small majority in parliament is against opening the airport for commercial use.
The PVV Minister recently visited Lelystad Airport, which is currently only used for sports aircraft. Schiphol, the owner of Lelystad Airport, has been wanting to use the airport for overflow holiday flights for years, but the opening has been delayed time and again.
The government program only states that the Cabinet will decide next year on whether or not to open Lelystad Airport to commercial use. With his statement to Nieuwsuur, Madlener made his intentions clear for the first time. According to the Minister, there are “some opponents” but many proponents for allowing holiday flights from the airport. “So I still have to see where that will land, to put it in aviation terms.”
In January, the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of the Dutch parliament, adopted a motion against commercial flights from Lelystad. Coalition parties NSC and BBB also supported the motion. The two parties are still against it, though BBB is open to being convinced.
“We are against it because the added value of opening the holiday flights does not outweigh the inconvenience for local residents,” NSC MP Olger van Dijk told the program.
The BBB’s biggest problem is that opening Lelystad will cost a lot of nitrogen space, which the farmers’ party would prefer to reserve for the agriculture sector. But BBB MP Cor Pierik did tell Nieuwsuur that the party’s position isn’t set in stone. “As soon as new insights emerge, we will take stock. And then we could come to a different conclusion.”
If the BBB does change its mind, there will be a parliamentary majority in favor of opening Lelystad Airport to commercial flights. Pierik said that this responsibility weighs heavy on the party. “But of course, there are other parties that could play a key role.”
