Schiphol is in danger: without holiday flights, Lelystad airport has no future

Next year, Minister Barry Madlener from Infrastructure and Water Management (IenW) wants to make a decision about Lelystad Airport. As of 2019, there has been a ready terminal that can handle large trade traffic, but it is not open.

No majority

The intention is to move holiday flights which currently take off and land at Schiphol itself, near Amsterdam. To make room for interregional air traffic, holiday flyers would move to Lelystad, even if there is no majority for this in the House of Representatives so far.

Schiphol Group owns Lelystad Airport and has “significantly” invested in the airport, the airport chief wrote in a letter to Schoof at the end of May, which had just been announced as Prime Minister with the coalition parties PVV, VVD, NSC and still negotiating. BBB.

According to Schiphol, Lelystad is ready for the step towards commercial civil aviation, not to grow aircraft, but to spread the disturbance caused by air traffic ‘fairer’. “After all, Lelystad is located in a place where there are far fewer people inconvenienced by air traffic. At Schiphol there are more than 100,000 people who are seriously inconvenienced by 10,000 aircraft; at Lelystad there are fewer than 100.”

Night flight

Although according to Schiphol it is not about growth, the letter refers to 45,000 flights that could be handled by Lelystad Airport in the end. Schiphol suggests that the rescheduled flights near Amsterdam could be overnight flights, so that holiday travelers do not have to ‘put down the alarm clock suddenly early’.

Schiphol has said it has no desire to make a loss at Lelystad Airport for years to come. In 2023, he invested 10 million euros in the airport, according to Schiphol’s annual report, compared to 8.7 million in 2022. This was the worst performance of Schiphol’s regional airports. Eindhoven earned 26 million euros and Rotterdam The Hague Airport 4 million.

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Earlier this month, Minister Madlener highlighted the millions who are missing because Lelystad Airport remains closed to commercial traffic. Lelystad would lose out on 18 million euros in income each year in port fees, parking and catering income.

With wholesale traffic, the losses will disappear for the owner of Lelystad Schiphol Airport. Do not go, but be limited, say the Cooperative Action Groups against Low Flying, which oppose the opening of Lelystad Airport. According to Leon Adegeest, the airport only makes a profit from 16,000 flights a year and if it opens, it will not be the first for more than 10,000 flights a year.

Long payback period

Adegeest is based on one business plan for Lelystad Airport since 2014. It actually says ‘positive use (possible, ed.) with around 16,000 aircraft movements and 2.4 million passengers per year’. Even then, it will take seven years before the necessary investments and start-up losses are recovered.

Director Jan Eerkens at Lelystad Airport opposed this in an interview on Radio1 at the end of September. “We also have very dark figures for 10,000 aircraft movements.”

No risk, says Schiphol itself

Schiphol said in response that the letter should not be seen as a threat or a warning. “The letter aims to inform the new cabinet about the importance of opening Lelystad Airport.”

A spokesman does not want to predict what Schiphol will do if it is decided next year not to use the airport for holiday flights. “It is now up to the government to make a decision so it is too early to comment on circumstances.”