The saga that the opening of Lelystad airport near Amsterdam to commercial traffic (as the permitted aircraft movements at Schiphol Airport have adjusted) has dragged on for at least a decade, and shows no sign of ending.
Schiphol Group’s CFO hopes for a resolution in 2025 – but one had been expected in 2024.
At the heart of the matter is the conflict between growth and environmental protection, which means it isn’t unique, by any means.
But the circumstances are a little different, where a draconian enforced reduction in aircraft movements for 2025 at Schiphol (albeit less stringent than it originally was) flies in the face of attempts by KLM to maintain and grow its critical hub business there.
KLM would not move to Lelystad – that job would be left to LCCs and charter airlines that have an O&D business model. And Lelystad is ready for them.
But they won’t be moving there either, unless a conundrum involving potentially overlapping airspace and – more significantly – a row between government and farmers and the presence of nitrogen can be resolved.
It isn’t looking good, and the odds are stacked against it ever happening, as things stand.