Lelystad Airport
Encyclopedia
Lelystad Airport is an airport
3.5 NM south southeast of Lelystad
, Netherlands
.
It is the biggest general aviation
airport in the Netherlands and is also home to a large aviation museum
, the Aviodrome
. The museum's former KLM Boeing 747-200
which they have on display is a prominent feature on the airport.
In 1966 it was decided that the newly created Flevopolder
required one central airport. A suitable location with room for future expansion was found to the east of Lelystad. The first flights from this location took place in 1971, but it wasn't until 1973 that it received the official status as an airport. At first Lelystad had grass taxi- and runway
s, but it was found that the clay
couldn't support all the traffic and 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 taxiway
s was hardened and in 1981 the runway was hardened. In 1991 the runway length was increased to 1250 m (4,101 ft), hoping to attract more business aircraft with the longer runway. 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 presence of the museum, various aviation events are frequently held at the airport.
, holiday charters and regional airline
s using aircraft such as the Boeing 737
and the Airbus A320
series to operate from Lelystad. The expansion would include a longer runway, 2100 m (6,890 ft) long, and facilities to handle the bigger aircraft and approximately 2 million passengers.
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
3.5 NM south southeast of Lelystad
Lelystad
Lelystad is a municipality and a city in the centre of the Netherlands, and it is the capital of the province of Flevoland. The city, built on reclaimed land, was founded in 1967 and was named after Cornelis Lely, who engineered the Afsluitdijk, making the reclamation possible...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
It is the biggest general aviation
General aviation
General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
airport in the Netherlands and is also home to a large aviation museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
, the Aviodrome
Aviodrome
The Nationaal Luchtvaart-Themapark Aviodrome is a large aerospace museum in The Netherlands that has been located on Lelystad Airport since 2003.-History:...
. The museum's former KLM Boeing 747-200
Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced...
which they have on display is a prominent feature on the airport.
Flevoland
Flevoland is a province of the Netherlands. Located in the centre of the country, at the location of the former Zuiderzee, the province was established on January 1, 1986; the twelfth province of the country, with Lelystad as its capital...
required one central airport. A suitable location with room for future expansion was found to the east of Lelystad. The first flights from this location took place in 1971, but it wasn't until 1973 that it received the official status as an airport. At first Lelystad had grass taxi- and runway
Runway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...
s, but it was found that the clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
couldn't support all the traffic and 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 taxiway
Taxiway
A taxiway is a path on an airport connecting runways with ramps, hangars, terminals and other facilities. They mostly have hard surface such as asphalt or concrete, although smaller airports sometimes use gravel or grass....
s was hardened and in 1981 the runway was hardened. In 1991 the runway length was increased to 1250 m (4,101 ft), hoping to attract more business aircraft with the longer runway. In 1993 the Schiphol Group
Schiphol Group
Schiphol Group is a Dutch company with its head office on the grounds of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands.It is 100% shareholder of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Rotterdam The Hague Airport, and Lelystad Airport. It also owns 51% of Eindhoven Airport, 19% of Brisbane Airport...
became the owner of the airport. The Aviodrome museum moved to Lelystad Airport from Schiphol in 2003.
Because of the presence of the museum, various aviation events are frequently held at the airport.
Expansion
An expansion of the airport is planned in 2010 which would allow mainly budget airlinesLow-cost carrier
A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline is an airline that generally has lower fares and fewer comforts...
, holiday charters and regional airline
Regional airline
Regional airlines are airlines that operate regional aircraft to provide passenger air service to communities without sufficient demand to attract mainline service...
s using aircraft such as the Boeing 737
Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...
and the Airbus A320
Airbus A320 family
The Airbus A320 family is a family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger jet airliners manufactured by Airbus Industrie.Airbus was originally a consortium of European aerospace companies, and is now fully owned by EADS. Airbus's name has been Airbus SAS since 2001...
series to operate from Lelystad. The expansion would include a longer runway, 2100 m (6,890 ft) long, and facilities to handle the bigger aircraft and approximately 2 million passengers.