A new location was needed due to problematic wind conditions, the flood prone area, and a lack of space for expansion.

The next year, the airport is served by 30 daily connections, with long distance routes to Bielefeld, Bremen, Düsseldorf, and Hannover.

A Cessna 500 Citation of Ostfriesische Lufttransport is the first jet aircraft to land at the airport.

[5] In 1985, 13,909 aircraft movements, 30,024 passengers, and 152,225 kilograms (335,599 lb) of freight are recorded at the airport.

That year sees 18,252 aircraft movements, 39,414 passengers, and 239,990 kilograms (529,090 lb) of freight.