Lelystad Airport has not yet received a nature permit. The airport has made errors in the calculation of the nitrogen that is deposited on nearby nature reserves as soon as the regional airport opens. That writes Minister Christianne van der Wal (Nature and Nitrogen, VVD) Monday to the House of Representatives†
For example, it remains unclear whether Lelystad Airport will ever become operational. The cabinet has promised to make a decision this year about the airport that should take over the so-called ‘holiday flights’ from Schiphol. More than 200 million euros has already been invested in Lelystad Airport (arrival and departure hall, runway, parking areas).
Technically speaking, it means that Minister Van der Wal will not legalize the PAS notification from Lelystad Airport on Monday. At the beginning of May 2019, the airport made a report in the context of the Nitrogen Approach Program (PAS). For example, the airport wanted to obtain a nature permit. The airport had to show that its activities would not deposit too much nitrogen on the Veluwe, among others. Too much nitrogen harms biodiversity in vulnerable nature areas.
When the Council of State dismissed the PAS at the end of May 2019, all companies that had made a PAS notification in good faith could qualify for legalization of their nature permit. This mainly concerned agricultural companies – and the airport in Lelystad.
Wrong assumptions
Minister Van der Wal has assessed Lelystad Airport’s application and has now come to the conclusion that at least two things are incorrect. The airport, owned by Schiphol Group, has made wrong assumptions about the heat content of aircraft engines and the traffic that would drive to and from the airport.
According to the airport, aircraft emissions were much warmer than they actually are. The warmer the emissions, the higher the gases rise and the larger the area where they subsequently end up. In this way, the deposition is spread over a larger area and is lower per square meter. That would be beneficial for Lelystad, but is factually incorrect, according to the minister.
Furthermore, the airport has not taken into account highways outside Flevoland when calculating nitrogen emissions from motorized traffic. Cars, buses and motorcycles to and from the airport will cause more nitrogen precipitation than Lelystad Airport calculated in the PAS report. Residents’ associations that have been fighting against the arrival of the airport for years reported these erroneous assumptions much earlier.
Also read: Declaration against the government because of Lelystad Airport
‘Not off the job’
What now? Minister Van der Wal wrote to the House on Monday: “This decision does not mean that the opening of Lelystad has been cancelled.” According to the minister, Lelystad can no longer count on compensatory measures. The airport has to tackle its own nitrogen deposition in order to get a nature permit. Whether Lelystad Airport can really open is then a political choice.
It is unclear what the decision means for Schiphol’s nature permit. Amsterdam airport has also applied for a permit and is now answering additional questions about that application. If the Minister for Nature and Nitrogen were to refuse a nature permit, Schiphol may have to surrender a fifth of the 500,000 permitted flights (flight movements) (before corona).
In a joint response, Milieudefensie, Greenpeace and Natuur en Milieu stated: “We are pleased that the opening of Lelystad Airport is once again moving out of sight. For the umpteenth time. But now it’s really time to call off this plan. How many curves do we want to take to open this extra airport?” It is completely unnecessary, say the organizations. “More flights are bad for the climate, nature and our health. Like any other sector, aviation must also reduce CO2– and reduce nitrogen emissions.”
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