ReconstructionTraffic minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen tried to push through the opening of Lelystad Airport four days before the fall of the cabinet. ChristenUnie and D66 refused and blocked the opening. This is evident from a reconstruction by this news site.
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During a digital consultation on Monday 11 January 2021 with the group chairmen of the four government parties, Van Nieuwenhuizen (VVD) tried to force the opening of Lelystad Airport. Prime Minister Mark Rutte was also present.
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All the conditions have been met, said Van Nieuwenhuizen, nothing stands in the way of rapid opening anymore. She urged the group leaders to agree. But Gert-Jan Segers (ChristenUnie) and Rob Jetten (D66) refused. They pointed to the agreement that Lelystad Airport may only function as an overflow for the full Schiphol.
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Quote Lelystad Airport has become a prestige project for the VVD
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However, due to the corona crisis, air traffic has fallen sharply and there is no longer any takeover of Schiphol flights for the time being. That is why Segers and Jetten blocked the opening of the controversial holiday airport. Four days later, the cabinet fell.
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Christian Union Member of Parliament Eppo Bruins from Ermelo calls the VVD’s attempt to push through the airport at the last minute ‘incomprehensible’. “It shows that it has become a prestige project for the VVD.”
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Critical
In the coalition agreement from 2017 it was agreed that the – now out-of-commission – cabinet would open Lelystad Airport. ChristenUnie and D66 soon had doubts and took a very critical attitude for years.
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To the annoyance of the VVD, which feels cheated by the coalition partners at the time. “It was time-wasting and things slowed down,” says VVD MP Remco Dijkstra. “If we ever do business with them again, we have to seal the agreements in such a way that we will not be bothered again.”
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Initially, Lelystad Airport was to open in April 2018 as a holiday airport and take over flights from Schiphol. The opening has already been postponed four times due to errors in noise and nitrogen calculations and problems with the European Commission.
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More than 200 million euros has now been invested in a new runway, passenger terminal and control tower. Yet it is very uncertain whether the holiday airport will ever be built. After the elections, the fate of Lelystad Airport will be decided at the formation table. There is a good chance that there will be no political majority.
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Flevoland has had a brand new airport for a few years now. Ready to start as a holiday airport. Yet there is no aircraft to be seen. And there is a good chance that they will never come. Where did things go wrong with Lelystad Airport? Read our extensive reconstruction below the photo.
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