The government of the Dutch province of Overijssel has dealt a blow to plans for a commercial airport near the city of Enschede. In a close vote the controversial plan was rejected by 24 against 23.

RNW reported about the plan on 15 December. The project met with a lot of opposition both in the region and across the border in Germany, where there is an airport near the city of Münster. Following the rejection by the province, it is thought unlikely that the Enschede airport will be built. The city's current air traffic facility is a small decommissioned Dutch Airforce base.

Not only has the vote scuppered the ambitions of Enschede, it is also threatening to topple the provincial government. Representatives of the governing Labour party voted against the plan because they have no confidence in the financial and economic projections made by the developers of the airport. Labour's coalition partners in the provincial government, the Christian democrats and the conservatives, say they have lost confidence in Labour.

Twente airport as it is now (Photo: SAVT)