Rotterdam The Hague Airport

Rotterdam The Hague Airport (formerly Rotterdam Airport, Vliegveld Zestienhoven in Dutch), (IATA: RTM, ICAO: EHRD) located 3 NM (5.6 km; 3.5 mi) north northwest[1] of Rotterdam in South Holland, Netherlands, is the third busiest airport in the Netherlands. It serves the cities of Rotterdam and The Hague and their regions. The airport handled over 2.1 million passengers in 2019 and features scheduled flights to European metropolitan and leisure destinations. It is also used extensively by general aviation and there are several flying clubs, a skydiving club and a flight training school located at the airport.

Rotterdam The Hague Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
Owner/OperatorSchiphol Group
ServesRotterdam and The Hague, Netherlands
LocationRotterdam, South Holland
Focus city forTransavia
Elevation AMSL-14 ft / -4 m
Coordinates51°57′25″N 04°26′25″E
Websiterotterdamthehagueairport.nl
Map
RTM/EHRD
Location of airport in Rotterdam , South Holland , Netherlands
RTM/EHRD
RTM/EHRD (South Holland)
RTM/EHRD
RTM/EHRD (Netherlands)
RTM/EHRD
RTM/EHRD (Europe)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
06/24 2,200 7,218 Asphalt
Statistics (2019)
Passengers2,133,976
Freight (tonnes)1
Aircraft movements52,439
Sources: AIP,[1] 2019 Annual Facts & Statistics Report (PDF, Dutch)[2]

History

Early years

After World War II, the Dutch government decided that a second national airport was needed in addition to Schiphol. Rotterdam had had an airport before the war - Waalhaven airport - but it was heavily damaged in the German bombing of Rotterdam, and was later completely destroyed to prevent it from being used by the Germans. Reconstruction of the airport was not a realistic proposition, so a new location was found in the Zestienhoven polder, giving the airport its name.[3]

Construction of the airport began in August 1955 and the airport was officially opened in October 1956. Several large international airlines, such as Swissair, Lufthansa, Air France, Channel Airways, and British Air Ferries (Channel Air Bridge) were soon operating to Rotterdam. However, in the 1970s plans were made to either close or move the airport to make space for housing. Its uncertain future halted the airport's growth and led to many operators leaving.[3]

Development since the 1990s

For almost thirty years the airport faced closure, but the economic growth of the 1990s caused an increase in passengers again and in 2001 it was decided that the airport's current location would be maintained for at least a century.

The route with the longest continual service, to London Heathrow and operated by KLM Cityhopper, was suspended in 2008. This marked the end of KLM's involvement with the airport. However, in December 2012, British Airways began a service to Rotterdam from Heathrow.[4] In October 2014 British Airways announced they would suspend the route again in March 2015.[5] British Airways now flies to Rotterdam from London City Airport.[6]

The name of the airport was changed from Zestienhoven to Rotterdam Airport and finally in 2010 to its current name Rotterdam The Hague Airport.

Most flights today are operated by smaller mainline jets such as the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 series or the Embraer 190. There is also a fair amount of business aviation. State and military aircraft also use the airport frequently, this due to The Hague being the seat of the Dutch government and also housing various other international institutions such as the International Criminal Court.[7] With the closure of nearby Ypenburg Airport in 1992 and Valkenburg Naval Air Base in 2006, Rotterdam The Hague airport is now the only remaining airport in the area for those types of flights.

The airport experienced significant growth in the 2010s, doubling passenger numbers from 1,000,858 in 2010 to 2,133,976 in 2019.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights to and from Rotterdam:[8]

AirlinesDestinations
Blue Islands Seasonal charter: Guernsey, Jersey
British Airways London–City
Corendon Airlines Seasonal: Antalya, Izmir, Kayseri
Corendon Dutch Airlines Seasonal: Heraklion
Pegasus Airlines Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen, Kayseri
Royal Air Maroc Nador, Tangier
Transavia Alicante, Barcelona, Edinburgh, Faro, Gran Canaria, Lisbon, Málaga, Tenerife–South, Valencia, Vienna
Seasonal: Akureyri, Al Hoceima, Almería, Bergerac, Bilbao, Brindisi, Chambéry, Corfu, Dubrovnik, Geneva, Girona, Grenoble, Heraklion, Ibiza, Innsbruck, Kayseri, Klagenfurt, Kos, Lanzarote, Montpellier, Nador, Rome–Fiumicino, Palermo, Palma de Mallorca, Perugia, Pisa, Pula, Salzburg, Split, Tangier, Toulon, Zadar
Seasonal charter: Rovaniemi, Skellefteå
TUI fly Belgium Seasonal: Al Hoceima, Brač, Marrakesh, Tangier
TUI fly Netherlands Seasonal: Antalya, Fuerteventura, Kos, Lanzarote, Palma de Mallorca, Rhodes, Tenerife–South, Zakynthos

Statistics
A Sabena de Havilland Heron at the airport in 1968
Check-in area

Passenger numbers
Year Passengers Aircraft movements
2017 1,774,976[9] 49,962
2018 1,943,733[10] 53,322
2019 2,133,976[11] 52,439

Busiest routes
Busiest Routes from Rotterdam Airport (2016)
RankAirportPassengers 2016
1London City Airport219,222
2Barcelona–El Prat Airport154,152
3Málaga Airport126,034
4Faro Airport121,494
5Alicante Airport110,239
Source: http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/submitViewTableAction.do

Ground transportation
Meijersplein metro station

Bus

The airport is served by bus line 33, which runs between Rotterdam Centraal, the airport, and further to Meijersplein station. At Meijersplein, transfers are available to metro line E, with frequent service to Den Haag Centraal, Rotterdam Centraal and Rotterdam city center.[12]

Car

The airport is situated next to the busy A13/E19 motorway, which makes it easily accessible via car.

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See also

References
  1. EHRD – ROTTERDAM/Rotterdam. AIP from AIS the Netherlands, effective 13 August 2020
  2. Annual Statistics 2010-2019 - Rotterdam The Hague Airport (PDF, Dutch)
  3. "History - Rotterdam The Hague Airport". Rotterdam The Hague Airport. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  4. "BA gears up for new short-haul Heathrow services". Business Traveller. 3 December 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  5. "British Airways suspends London Heathrow – Rotterdam flights from 28 March 2015". London Air Travel. 29 October 2014. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  6. "Visit Holland | Flights | British Airways". www.britishairways.com. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  7. Ranter, Harro. "Rotterdam Airport profile - Aviation Safety Network". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  8. rotterdamthehagueairport.nl - Find & book retrieved 29 April 2017
  9. "Rotterdam The Hague Airport fact & figures 2017" (PDF). Rotterdam The Hague Airport.
  10. "Rotterdam The Hague Airport fact & figures 2018" (PDF). Rotterdam The Hague Airport.
  11. "Rotterdam The Hague Airport Annual facts & figures 2019" (PDF). Rotterdam The Hague Airport.
  12. "Metro".

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