Infrastructure minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen will not take a decision about expanding Rotterdam airport’s facilities and flight capacity until agreement is reached on rejigging Dutch air space, broadcaster NOS said on Friday.

The broadcaster bases its claim on a letter send by a Zuid Holland provincial official to provincial councillors about the current situation at Dutch airports.

Airspace has to be reorganised to cope with the planned expansion of Lelystad airport, which is supposed to take charter flights over from Schiphol airport from 2020.

But the new system will not be finished until autumn 2019 at the earliest, and that means delays to Rotterdam’s expansion hopes. Last year, Rotterdam processed a record 1.8 million passengers and officials want to bring in more flights.

The government’s decision to freeze development at Rotterdam is the second blow to the airport this year. In March, the Council of State, the country’s highest administrative court, refused to allow an extension to the current terminal building, saying it would be too big.