Airports
Lelystad readies for more bizav traffic
Efforts to establish Lelystad Airport as the main business aviation gateway for the Netherlands have received a boost as a result of a recent Dutch governm

Efforts to establish Lelystad Airport as the main business aviation gateway for the Netherlands have received a boost as a result of a recent Dutch government decision to allow the main runway to be extended to almost 6,900 feet. Also, from early March, the airport has been able to nearly quadruple its annual traffic limits by aircraft weighing more than six metric tons (31,227 pounds) from the previous ceiling of 6,000 movements to 22,500.

Lelystad is owned by the same group that owns Amsterdam’s main airport, Schiphol, and has sought to develop it as a way to ease congestion at the busy airline hub by providing an alternative for business aviation traffic. The runway extension work is awaiting budgetary approval from Schiphol, which, like most European airports, has suffered a dip in income during the downturn in air transport demand.