The long struggle over a second airport for Amsterdam and who should use it is headed back to court, this time with Ryanair suing the European Commission, the executive body of the European Union.
The new field, at Lelystad, built in the 1970s for general aviation and now being expanded, has not had commercial service. The expansion of runways and terminals has been part of a plan to relieve pressure on Schiphol Airport, which is barred from adding any more flights. Schiphol Group is also the owner of Lelystad.
The initial plan for Lelystad was to have it serve charter and holiday travel primarily, saving slots at Schiphol for the airport's huge transfer and trans-Atlantic business. The present plan, approved by the European Commission, would give preference to those flights for Schiphol, and send flights for more local passengers to Lelystad.
That would include many of Ryanair's flights, and the airline's suit argues that the plan gives illegal preference to KLM flights serving the same routes as Ryanair flights that would be directed to Lelystad. Lelystad Airport is over an hour from Amsterdam by train; Schiphol's only a 15-minute ride.
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