The Dutch cabinet must decide before the end of this year whether to grant an environmental permit for Lelystad Airport. A judge ruled that waiting until 2030, as proposed by Minister of Agriculture and Nature Jaimi van Essen, would take “unnecessarily long”.
Lelystad Airport applied for the permit more than six years ago. However, a decision has been repeatedly postponed.
The government wants to open the airport for holiday flights, but this cannot happen without a valid nature permit. Campaign group Red de Veluwe brought the case to court in an effort to force a decision.
According to the group, the ministry can no longer “delay” a ruling on the airport’s permit application.
“The Minister must now demonstrate substantively whether the airport can comply with nature regulations,” Red de Veluwe said. “Given the poor state of nature and the major nitrogen problems, the Ministry has no choice but to reject the permit.”
@anp | NEWS BRAINPORT
