In 1966 it was decided that the newly created Flevopolder required a central airport. A suitable location with room for future expansion was found to the south of Lelystad. The first flights from this location took place in 1971, but it was not until 1973 that it received official status as an airport. At first Lelystad had grass taxi- and runways, but it was found that the clay could not support the traffic, as tracks started to form. Because of the often poor condition of the terrain, the airport suffered from frequent closure. To resolve this problem, in 1978 the first of the taxiways was hardened and in 1981 the runway was hardened. In 1991 the runway length was increased to, to try to attract more business aircraft. from AIS Airlines at Lelystad Airport with aircraft of AIS Flight academy in the background In 1993 the Schiphol Group became the owner of the airport. The Aviodrome museum moved to Lelystad Airport from Schiphol in 2003. Local flying school AIS Flight Academy started an airline in 2009, AIS Airlines, and is still headquartered at Lelystad Airport, although they do not operate any scheduled flights from Lelystad. Because of the museum, various aviation events are frequently held at the airport.
Expansion
An expansion of the airport is underway. The runway is being extended to a total length of 2700 meters with a TORA of 2460 meters and an ASDA of 2700 meters, which is long enough to facilitate all aircraft of the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 families and also is suitable for operations with wide bodies like the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 although not at maximum take off weight. The ILS was tested in June 2018. The new terminal will be built in phases, easily expandable when the airport grows. In 2018 the terminal building will be finished, capable of handling 25,000 flights per year. The building can be doubled on the RDW-location, capable of handling eventually up to 45,000 flights. The same strategy is used for the airside apron with the aircraft stands, starting with 4 stands and ending up at 12 stands or more. The number of allowed aircraft movements is much discussed in the Netherlands and will start the first year of operation at only 4,000 per year, which means only around 11 movements daily. In 2021 and 2022, 7,000 and 10,000 flights respectively will be allowed. The air routes are not capable for more flights, because of Schiphol air routes. In 2023 the air routes to all Dutch airports will be changed to make more flights to Lelystad Airport possible. The low maximums for the first years are expected to be discussed much more in the upcoming months/years as the demand is much higher than that because of the fast growth of air travel to the Netherlands. Other airports, like Amsterdam Schiphol, Rotterdam and Eindhoven, are already reaching their maximum allowed number of flights. Discussion includes raising the number of allowed flights to Amsterdam Schiphol airport of 500,000. Legally Lelystad airport is allowed up to 45,000 movements of passenger flights per year in the future. General aviation flights do not count for this maximum of Lelystad Airport. The airport will have its own exit from the A6 motorway, which connects with Amsterdam, with travel times around 40–45 minutes when traffic allows. A public bus service also takes travelers to the Lelystad Centrum railway station, where trains run frequently in the direction of Amsterdam, Schiphol Airport and The Hague, Zwolle and Groningen. The number of intercity trains to Amsterdam and Schiphol will be raised to six each hour in a few years. Parking lots with a capacity of 3,000 cars are planned for the first phase and will be close to the terminal. In the future more parking lots will be constructed at the RDW-location next to the airport. A 10-year concession for all handling is awarded to Viggo, a Dutch handling company which has run all handling at Eindhoven Airport successfully for many years. The expansion of Lelystad Airport was driven by the fact that the main airport in the Netherlands, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, is at its maximum allowed aircraft movements of 500,000 and will need to focus on transfers passengers by the KLM group and partners and freight flights. Lelystad Airport is conveniently designed for passengers who have Amsterdam/The Netherlands as their destination, as well as being conveniently located, being 67 km away from main Amsterdam by road. Therefore, Transavia and Ryanair already expressed interest in operating from the airport. Dutch tour operator Corendon also wants to fly from Lelystad Airport, starting with one airplane having its base at the airport.
