# Lelystad Airport

Lelystad Airport (IATA: LEY, ICAO: EHLE) is an airport 3.5 NM (6.5 km; 4.0 mi) south southeast of the city of Lelystad in Flevoland, Netherlands. It is the biggest general aviation airport in the Netherlands. The first flights were in 1971 and it became an official airport in 1973. Schiphol Group became owner of the airport in 1993. It is home to the aviation museum Aviodrome, which has a former KLM Boeing 747-200SUD on display. The airport serves Lelystad, the province of Flevoland, and Amsterdam. The airport is the base of AIS Airlines, although they do not operate scheduled passenger flights from Lelystad Airport.

## History
### Foundation and early years

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 the site did not receive official status as an airport until 1973.
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 closures. 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 1,250 metres (4,101 ft), to try to attract more business aircraft.
In 1993 the Schiphol Group became the owner of the airport. The Aviodrome museum moved to Lelystad Airport from Schiphol in 2003. Because of the museum, various aviation events are held at the airport.
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 there.

### Expansion

An expansion of the airport is underway. The runway has been extended to a total length of 2,700 metres (8,858 ft), long enough to facilitate all aircraft of the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 families, and also suitable for operations with wide bodies like the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350, although not at maximum take off weight. The ILS (instrument landing system) was tested in June 2018. The new terminal will be built in phases, easily expandable when the airport grows. The terminal building was scheduled to be finished in 2018, and to be capable of handling 25,000 flights per year and can easily be expanded to handle up to 45,000 flights (7 to 8 million passengers) per year. The same strategy is used for the airside apron and aircraft stands, starting with four stands but with space for a total of twelve or more stand. 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 eleven movements daily.
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.
A 10-year concession for all handling (landside and airside) was awarded to Viggo, a Dutch handling company.
The expansion of Lelystad Airport was driven by Amsterdam Airport Schiphol reaching its maximum of 500,000 allowed aircraft movements. The House of Representatives passed a motion in January 2024 to block the usage of the airport for commercial aviation, leaving it to the responsible minister to decide whether to execute the motion.