With the possible opening of Lelystad Airport for commercial civil aviation, the use of a low -flying route over Drenthe nature reserves threatens. Aircraft that will land and take off at Lelystad have to fly considerably lower in order not to get in the way of air traffic to and from Schiphol. Drenthe remains quiet and warn the cooperating action groups against low -flying (SATL).
“On the west side of Drenthe is such a low-flying route, which runs from the northernmost tip of the Drentsche Aa area to the west side of the Drents-Friese Wold and the Holtingveld. Aircraft then fly between 1800 and 900 meters high, depending on The falling flight they have to use for Lelystad, “explains Marc Huibers van Drenthe, chairman. His action group has been opposed to low -flies for years through both civil aviation and military air traffic.
But according to transport deputy Henk Jumelet of the province of Drenthe, Drenthe is still wrong to worry about the Lelystad route. “It’s not a low -flying route but a approach route. The planes come to about 1800 meters.”
According to Jumelet and the Ministry of I&W, there is 60 decibels of noise on the ground when such a passenger plane flies at that height. According to Huibers, that is not true. “We have the same software for the noise calculation as the ministry and even from the Ministry received their figures and we get a solution that is much more than 60 decibels. We inform Lower MPs that the figures from the Ministry are incorrect.”
“And the quieter an area is, the better you hear the planes,” Huibers continues. Southwest Drenthe lives on tourism, nature and agriculture. The sound and emissions do not do the people and the economy a good fear. “The lower you fly, the more emissions in a small area end up underneath: CO2, particulate matter and ultrafine fabric.”
Lelystad Airport Minister Barry Madlener of Infrastructure and Water Management still wants to open for holiday flights. Madlener thinks it is “a waste of the investment” if that does not happen, he said at Nieuwsuur. The government program states that in 2025 the cabinet will take a decision about the opening.
Madleners Ministry says that the routes for approaching and departing aircraft of Lelystad Airport are not yet fixed, but that the low -flying route on the west side of Drenthe is certainly in the picture. “In principle, Inb-S1 is one of the possible approach routes.” The flight height “let itself be difficult to predict” also says a spokesperson.
“The previous cabinet had set two conditions for a possible opening of Lelystad Airport: there must be a nature permit, and there had to be a solution in sight for the low -flying routes. The application for the nature permit was made, and the airport has devised a solution itself For the low -flying routes.
That advice also contains the non -admission of a low -flying route via the south of the country, aviation sector 3. That traffic must be distributed via the other routes, such as sector 1 where Drenthe invades. “It should be noted that sector 3 concerns incoming traffic from the south, while sector 1 is around the northeast. It is therefore not logical that a possible closure of sector 3 would mean that (those) flights are handled over sector 1 , since that is the opposite direction, “the ministry says.
But the previous cabinet did not judge the findings of LVNL because the Lelystad Airport file has been declared controversial by the Lower House. That has been left to the current cabinet. Madlener does not want to anticipate how the cabinet looks at that. “The cabinet does not yet have a response to LVNL’s route advice, which is part of the broader decision-making process about Lelystad Airport,” he said via a spokesperson.
BBB deputy in Flevoland Jan Klopman hopes that Lelystad Airport will soon open for commercial aviation. In the Lower House, a motion for the Dieren Party was adopted in 2024 against commercial flights from Lelystad. NSC and BBB also supported that motion. If the BBB actually changes his mind, there is a majority for the opening of Lelystad Airport.
In addition to Groningen Airport Eelde, Defense also has Lelystad, the former air bases De Peel, Twente and Woensdrecht for more flights with the F-35. Next spring, the State Secretary will make a final choice between these airports. They must provide extra flight capacity for fighter jets, in addition to the current air bases in Leeuwarden and Volkel.
Lelystad seems to be preferred by Defense. Research shows that practicing with F-35s in Lelystad would yield the least noise nuisance for local residents. State Secretary Tuinman of Defense has announced this.
For the municipality of Lelystad, the arrival of combat aircraft to Lelystad Airport is only possible and negotiable if the airport also opens for commercial flights. The province of Flevoland agrees.