On Thursday 25 June 2026, the Luxembourg Aeronautical Federation (Fédération Aéronautique Luxembourgeoise - FAL) released a press statement in which it suggested the reactivation of the Noertrange aerodrome could ease the pressure on Luxembourg Airport.
The federation stressed that general aviation cannot be reduced to a marginal or secondary activity at Luxembourg Airport and called for a balance between commercial aviation, business aviation, private flights, training and sporting activities, the challenge is to preserve a coherent, safe and useful ecosystem for the entire Luxembourg aviation sector.
The FAL said that in the context of recent discussions about the role of non-commercial aviation at Luxembourg Airport, the Luxembourg Aeronautical Federation (FAL) wishes to reiterate an obvious point: general aviation has a real and legitimate place in the country’s aviation landscape. It cannot be regarded as a mere adjustment variable.
The federation said: “Aviation in Luxembourg cannot be reduced either to scheduled commercial aviation or to a few occasional leisure flights. The term ‘general aviation’ covers a wide range of activities: private flights, light business aviation, training flights, club activities, leisure aviation, and in some cases sporting practices. Reducing this whole sector to a secondary activity would be a misjudgement. General aviation contributes to pilot training, the maintenance of aviation skills, the activity of flying clubs, and Luxembourg’s attractiveness for certain private or business travel. It is fully part of the Luxembourg aviation ecosystem.”
The FAL noted it is fully aware of the constraints inherent to the Findel airport platform and that the coexistence of commercial and general aviation requires clear rules, rigorous coordination, and ongoing dialogue between the parties involved. The federations stressed this requirement for safety and organisation is not open to question. However, the debate on the future of general aviation cannot be approached solely from the angle of constraint. A simplistic opposition between commercial and general aviation would ignore the diversity of runway usage as well as the sector’s real needs.
The federation said the question is not whether to choose between commercial and general aviation. It is how to preserve, in Luxembourg, a balanced, safe and coherent aviation ecosystem in which the various forms of aviation all have their place. It added that this reflection does not concern Findel alone. It also requires an overall vision of Luxembourg’s aviation infrastructure and its complementarity.
In this perspective, the federation said it believes that the future of sites such as Noertrange also deserved full attention.
“The reactivation of the Noertrange aerodrome is fully in line with this desire to preserve and develop, in a coherent manner, the tools that general, sporting and leisure aviation needs in Luxembourg,” said Jean-Claude Weber, Secretary General of the FAL.
In this regard, the federation welcomed the cooperation initiated with the government and the Ministry of Transport to advance this project in a constructive spirit.
The FAL remarked: “The Luxembourg Aeronautical Federation advocates a measured approach, based on facts and on the real needs of users. The debate deserves better than a simplistic opposition between commercial and general aviation. It calls for serious reflection on the conditions needed to preserve a coherent framework for all aviation activities in Luxembourg.”
